Books about Book Bans
Over the past few years, worrying trends of book censorship have emerged, with challenges to books in schools and libraries increasing markedly since before the pandemic. This year, the American Library Association indicated that 414 attempts were made to censor library materials from January to August 2024, while 1,128 unique titles were targeted for censorship. Books with 2SLGBTQIA+ and BIPOC voices are more likely to be targeted.
This isn't only an American phenomenon. In May 2023, a delegation presented to the Brandon School Board in Manitoba calling for a committee to review the content of books found in schools, with a particular focus on books that discussed gender identity. The local community showed up in opposition to this idea, communicating the importance of diverse representation for all students, especially for students who are 2SLGBTQIA+. The school board rejected censorship in this instance, although censorship continue to be an issue across Canada.
In several young adult and middle grade books, authors have explored the issue of book bans and censorship. Not Another Banned Book, by Dana Alison Levy focuses on eighth grader Molly, whose world is rocked when her school-sponsored book club is ended due to book challenges. Molly and her friends write to a famous author for support and they are told that they need to take their own local action. The club attempts to investigate who challenged the books, but ultimately they end up taking to social media to promote and give away banned books. Throughout the book, Molly is dealing with the after-effects of grief from losing her brother, an event that has taught her to stand alone and be independent. However, she must learn to reach for interdependence and community when it comes to solving her problems, including book bans.
I like how the author communicated the importance of diverse representation in books. Several of Molly's friends are students of colour and queer, and the author makes it clear that books reflecting their experiences and identities are essential. Molly is white, and she has learned from the book club novels, helping her better understand others. It might seem like an odd choice to center this story around a white student, but I appreciate how Molly herself is challenged over the course of the story. For instance, her friend criticizes her for expecting a queer author to come to her rescue and for almost giving up instead of taking action herself. Molly takes this critique to heart. She learns to take better action as an ally and to work with her friends to push back against the book ban.
This Book Won't Burn, written by Samira Ahmed, is a young adult book that covers similar territory to Not Another Banned Book. After her father leaves her family, Noor is uprooted from Chicago and moves to a small town with her mother and sister. Her plans to fly under the radar are squashed when Noor finds that many books written by queer and BIPOC authors have been removed from the library. Noor and her friends hold banned book readings off school property, spread the word through social media, rally community support and set up free little libraries. While there are some notable similarities in how the students respond to the book bans, This Book Won't Burn also covers the consequences of these actions. Noor faces threats, racism and Islamophobia, as well as violence because she speaks out. Action is necessary, but it is not without risks. As well, the antagonists are more fleshed out in this book, with a small town politician driving the book ban forward.
In both books, the students are the prime focus (which makes sense given the audience), and adult actions fade into the background. However, adult characters play some important roles. Librarians and teachers in the books provide the teen characters with reading material that includes diverse representation. Other adults advocate against the book bans to their school boards. In some cases, adults take initial moves to run in school board elections to make more systemic changes. In the real world, I have seen parents, teachers and community members take these actions with the intention of making schools safer and more inclusive and helping protect and promote diverse representation. The irony is that without these efforts, books like This Book Won't Burn and Not Another Banned Book are in danger of being removed from school libraries in many places. I am grateful for anyone taking a stand against censorship and advocating for inclusive schools and diverse representation.