The most-banned picture books in schools during the 2021-22 academic year feature LGBTQ and/or people of color protagonists, according to a new list from PEN America. That’s sadly unsurprising. Let’s look a little more closely at what we can learn from this, however.
The top titles in PEN America’s list are below. Linked titles are LGBTQ inclusive and thus in my Database of LGBTQ Family Books. Click through for further details.
1. Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag, by Rob Sanders, illustrated by Steve Salerno (2018)
1. I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas (2014)
1. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, illustrated by Henry Cole (2005)
4. In Our Mothers’ House, by Patricia Polacco (2009)
5. The Baby Tree, by Sophie Blackall (2014; Bookshop; Amazon)
5. Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation, by Duncan Tonatiuh (2014; Bookshop; Amazon)
5. Everywhere Babies, by Susan Meyers, illustrated by Marla Frazee (2004)
8. Worm Loves Worm, by J. J. Austrian, illustrated by Mike Curato (2016)
8. When Aidan Became a Brother, by Kyle Lukoff, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita (2019)
8. We March, by Shane W. Evans (2012; Bookshop; Amazon)
8. We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frane Lessac (2018; Bookshop; Amazon)
8. They, She, He Easy as ABC, by by Maya Christina Gonzalez and Matthew Sg, illustrated by by Maya Christina Gonzalez (2019)
8. The Name Jar, by Yangsook Choi (2001; Bookshop; Amazon)
8. The Family Book, by Todd Parr (2010)
8. Sulwe, by Lupita Nyong’o, illustrated by Vashti Harrison (2019; Bookshop; Amazon)
8. Stella Brings the Family, by Miriam B Schiffer, illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown (2015)
8. Sparkle Boy, by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Maria Mola (2017)
8. Sing a Song: How Lift Every Voice and Sing Inspired Generations, by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Keith Mallett (2019; Bookshop; Amazon)
8. Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, by Javaka Steptoe (2016; Bookshop; Amazon)
A few things to note:
First, the titles tied for first place had 5 bans each; the one in fourth had four bans; the ones in fifth place, three bans each; and the ones in eighth place, two bans each. That’s actually not as many as I’d expect, given that these are nationwide statistics. Having said that, censorship is censorship, and even one ban is bad. Let’s just take heart that perhaps some efforts to keep these books in schools may be working. Then again, this list does not include bans that happened after Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay/Trans” law went into effect, which could increase the numbers just from Florida alone, if recent actions are any indication. I suspect the 2022-23 numbers will be worse across the country, though, given growing anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
Second, only a few of the books here are recent ones. Four of the 19 books on the list were published in 2019; two in 2018; and one in 2017. The rest of the books are older than that; 12 were more than five years old during the school year in question, and five were more than a decade old. Some books age well, of course; there’s nothing wrong with older books. But the fact that many, many newer LGBTQ-inclusive picture books aren’t on the list makes me think that these titles aren’t even getting to schools in the first place. Do teachers and librarians not know about them? Are they scared to include additional titles? Is this a budgetary issue? I suspect it may be a little of all three, depending on the school. That’s unfortunate, since the quality of such books overall, in my opinion, keeps getting higher and the range of identities shown keeps broadening. (I imagine the same is true for the non-LGBTQ-inclusive books about people of color, but I have less expertise there.)
Third, note that this list is slightly different than the American Library Association’s (ALA’s) annual list of Most Challenged books. The ALA list looks at all libraries, not just schools, and counts “challenges” to books, which include attempts to remove books, whether or not they were successful. Both lists help provide us with a picture of current censorship. The ALA list also looks across all age groups; for this list, PEN America focused on picture books, which are less than 20 percent of the total bans, per PEN America’s fuller analysis. Young adult books are the most-often banned.
Finally, it’s worth observing that the top three picture books on PEN America’s list, and five of the books about people of color, are about real people and events. It’s a fine and blurry line between censoring books and restricting the rights and freedoms of people with these identities. All the more reason to fight these bans.
If your school, school district, or public library tries to ban or restrict books, a few good resources are:
- “A Template for Talking with School and Library Boards About Book Bans,” from Bookriot
- The Book Challenge Resource Center from the National Coalition Against Censorship
- Book Ban Busters resources and training, from Red Wine and Blue
- PEN America’s extensive research and reporting on book bans
- Fight Censorship materials from the American Library Association
- Information on responding to bans, from GLSEN’s Rainbow Library
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