I sit on our small town library board here in Centerville, and I spent a whole winter trying to get Toni Morrison's book back on the shelves after someone challenged it. People kept saying it was too graphic for teens, but I had to dig up 12 pages of reviews and educational use cases to prove its value. We finally voted 4-3 to keep it, but it took way longer than I thought it would. Has anyone else had a book challenge process drag on for months?
I was reading a report from PEN America about book bans in the 2023-2024 school year and it blew my mind. Something like 40% of the banned titles were picture books or middle grade novels, stuff like 'And Tango Makes Three' or 'The Day You Begin'. I always figured it was mostly young adult books getting targeted, but it turns out little kids' books get hit hard too. Has anyone else looked at the actual age range of the books being pulled?
I used to think book bans were overblown until my local library pulled a dinosaur book because it mentioned evolution - saw a parent complain about it at a school board meeting and realized how fast this stuff spreads. Has anyone else had a local ban that seemed way too petty?
After Mrs. Carter warned me off it back in 2009, I finally read it this fall and now I see why she was worried, but my kid actually asked if we could talk about the politics behind it. Anyone else have a book that was banned at their school that they read later and thought was actually pretty tame?
I walked into the main branch on 10th Avenue and saw a whole shelf of challenged books right up front with a sign that said 'Read Banned Books' and like 15 people were standing around looking at it, has anyone else seen libraries doing this more lately?
I was at my kids' school board meeting last Tuesday and heard a mom argue that Fahrenheit 451 should be pulled because it has fire and death. She totally missed the point about censorship and thought the message was that books are dangerous. Has anyone else run into people who haven't actually read the book they're trying to ban?
She said that right after I checked out Charlotte's Web for my little cousin, and I wanted to ask if she'd actually read the part where Charlotte gets left behind at the fair.
I was looking through the ALA's top 100 banned books list from last year and saw 'The Giver' on there. I remember reading that in 7th grade English in Portland and nobody batted an eye, now parents in some districts are calling it dystopian propaganda. Has anyone else noticed how the same books we read as kids are getting targeted now?
I checked out Maus from our local library last month after hearing it got banned in some schools. I didn't think much of it, figured it was just a comic about history. My 8 year old saw it on the kitchen table and started flipping through while eating a granola bar. Next thing I know, he's asking why the mice are in ovens and I'm scrambling to explain genocide on a Tuesday afternoon. No preparation at all, just cold turkey reality with a side of yogurt. Anyone else had a book backfire on you like that?
Which side is worse, pulling it completely or keeping it with a note that basically says 'this book might make you think too hard' and has anyone seen other districts slap a warning label on classics instead of just banning them outright?
I was visiting my niece's school in Columbus last Tuesday and walked through their annual book fair. I noticed they had a whole table of banned books like "Maus" and "Speak" but they were wrapped in paper with a sticker saying "ask a librarian about this title." The teacher told me the district quietly allows them but doesn't want to make a scene with parents. It got me thinking about how schools handle these gray areas. Have any of you seen similar setups at libraries or schools near you?
I was expecting the whole thing to be super dark and depressing but honestly the way Art Spiegelman drew the mice and cats made it way easier to digest while still hitting you right in the gut, has anyone else found a banned book that wasn't nearly as scary as people made it sound?
I was at the Williamson County library board meeting back in January 2022 when they voted to remove 'Maus' from the middle school shelves. A parent complained about a few swear words and a picture of a naked mouse. I sat there thinking about how the whole point of the book is showing what hate can do, and here they were worried about a mouse being drawn without clothes. Now anytime someone says a book should be banned, I ask them to tell me what the book is actually about first. Has anyone else noticed that the people calling for bans often haven't even read the whole book?