Suggested Reading - by Dave Connis

Clara Evans is without a doubt a rather bookish person. She not only runs a book club and several Tiny Little Libraries, she also volunteers at the Lupton Academy school library. And when she learns that over fifty books have been banned from her private high school she creates a secret "locker library" (a la Ban This Book) to ensure that her classmates still have access to the "prohibited media", although they (the students) haven't even been notified that the books have been removed. As a private school Lupton Academy can do what it likes without input from the community.

One of Clara's new favorite books, Don't Tread on Me, is among the prohibited media. DTOM is about a clandestine library which makes this whole story somewhat meta. 

Clara's character is well developed. We find her questioning her own motives for creating the locker library, as well she begins to wonder whether perhaps some books should be banned. She notes that Catcher in the Rye may have incited Mark David Chapman to murder John Lennon, and driven one of her friends to consider suicide. Her self-questioning ultimately allows her to think more deeply about the book bans, and hone her arguments against the censorship. That's how critical thinking works. When we get exposed to new ideas we may struggle with the new information and, whether we change our minds or not, we have a better understanding of the issues and can make our own well-reasoned arguments.

Although Don't Tread on Me is a fictitious book there are quite a few real books named in Suggested Reading. All have been banned or challenged somewhere, sometime. Links in the following list are to my reviews on this blog. This list is more or less in the order the books are named in Suggested Reading.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Animal Farm by George Orwell

The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Two Book Series were referenced without actually being named:

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicker

Occulted - by Amy Rose, Ryan Estrada, Jeongmin Lee

One of Amy Rose's early memories is of seeing Comet Hale-Bopp streak through the sky in 1997. The next day she learned of the mass suicide of members of the Heaven's Gate cult. It was when she began to realize that perhaps the temple she lived in with her mother was part of a cult as well.

One of the ways the cult's leader ("They") controlled their followers was by limiting information. They had a library, but did not allow others to access it. Amy sometimes snuck in to read. It was in They's library that Amy learned what a cult was and how the leaders were able to manipulate people into following them. They disliked Amy and had her sent to live with another family outside of the temple. Jeanie and Derek were not part of They's cult and made sure Amy got to go to the library regularly where she could pick out whatever books she wanted. 

Occulted: "An astronomical term for when something is concealed from view"

The title of the book is layered in meaning. The definition provided above is from the last page of the book. Rose points out that "the temple tried to conceal so much of the beauty of the world with control and fear. They told us the only way to grow was to stay hidden."

Book banners also seem to believe that by hiding information they are somehow facilitating growth. Concerns from the left and the right about book content use the same language. Suggesting that certain books are "harmful" or "problematic". As Ira Wells points out in his book On Book Banning 

Book banning harms some children by depriving them of information or narratives that may have enriched their lives. It harms other by whitewashing or severing them from history and presenting a sanitized version of reality. It impairs their development as democratic citizens, teaching them that when confronted with a disagreeable or upsetting viewpoint, the solution is to ban, silence, or prohibit.

Rose was indeed harmed by not having access to books and information. Going to the library was her salvation.

Americus - by MK Reed & Jonathan Hill

In the fictional town of Americus, Oklahoma some parents are in an uproar over the availability of the popular book series The Chronicles of Apathea Ravenchilde, the Huntress Witch in the public library. A group from "Keep Faith in Christ" descends upon a local library board meeting and demands that the books be banned over concerns about devil worship and witchcraft. Claiming that the books are "scientifically proven to be harmful to children" they insist that they are "damning their immortal souls. Board members counter that the library, as a government institution "cannot legally discriminate based on religious objections". Next, cue the parent arguing that the books are also obscene and the recitation of an out-of-context passage - that is most definitely not obscene. Calling books pornographic or obscene is a common tactic among those who would ban books. This post from EveryLibrary provides more context on this.

Of course many of the protesters haven't even read the books and are simply following their tribe.

Scowling faces are rampant in the illustrations of this graphic novel (of both of the book banners and defenders of free expression). However, the characters, despite some cliched tropes, do have some depth.

On Book Banning - by Ira Wells

Whenever I talk about book banning I make clear that the current crisis is driven by the religious right who are requesting the removal of thousands of books from schools and libraries (and have lately taken to targeting booksellers as well). I also make clear that they are not the only ones who are looking to censor what we can read. Book challenges come from both the left and the right, feminists and misogynists, people of a variety of religious backgrounds, politicians, and even from librarians. Ira Wells recognizes this and does not shy away from discussing this full range of restrictions and its consequences.

Wells begins by describing a "library audit" conducted at his children's (Ontario, Canada) elementary school. 

...the principal...told a group of parents...that she wished she could get rid of "all the old books". The bulk of the library's holdings were, from her perspective, to Eurocentric, too male, too heteronormative.

By "old books" the principal meant any book over 15 years old, regardless of its other qualities. This would necessarily include a lot of children's classic works, as well as plenty of works by LGBTQ authors and BIPOC authors.

He makes fair comparison between the Mom's for Liberty crowd in Florida and the Ontario progressives each with their own agenda for "child safety". Each group has identified categories of books that they believe should go. While the religious right wants all books with LGBTQ themes removed, the Canadian progressives would like to see books that are not "woke" enough removed.

Greater sensitivity to racially charged language and imagery has resulted in school library challenges to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Of Mice and Men, and several titles by Dr. Seuss. After some school districts banned from classrooms all books by non-Black authors that contain the N-word, novels like Lord of the Flies and To Kill a Mockingbird went from being mandatory to unteachable.

Predictably both groups of would be banners identify the works they'd like removed as "potential sources of student 'harm'". 

Also, predictably, the principal of Wells' children's school insisted that she was not banning any books, but rather simply "weeding" the collection.

...but this is a misrepresentation of library protocol: As the American Library Association states, "While weeding is essential to the collection development process, it should not be used as a deselection tool for controversial materials."  

Wells work also explores the history of book banning through a lens of religion as well as the history of libraries and the freedom of speech, current trends in monitoring speech including "soft censorship" which happens when titles are excluded from publication or purchase in order to avoid challenges. 

The State of Things

It comes as no surprise to me that a rise in book banning correlates to loss of literacy and reading skills. We can expect the hand wringing to continue as states pass laws and create policies that limit access to books and other media. 

According to PEN America there were 6870 book bans in the United States during the 2024-25 school year. Ninety-two percent of the challenges came from organized groups, or from the government. One of the reasons that the number of challenges has gone up exponentially in the last five years is that groups such as Moms for Liberty are challenging entire categories of books, whereas before 2020 most challenges came from individual parents concerned about what their own child was reading. 

Following is a partial list of what states are doing (or not) to protect our right to read. Be aware that in every state and territory in the US there are people and organizations fighting for everyone's right to read and access information, just as there are people and organizations in every state working to restrict access. 

Alabama's ban on LGBTQ and "sexually explicit" books in youth sections of public libraries has resulted in the loss of funding for at least one library which refused to move children's books into the adult section of the library.  

Arkansas is enforcing a vague book banning law that calls for criminal penalites for educators, librarians, booksellers, and potentially individual citizens, who provide materials that are deemed "harmful" to minors. The law does not specify or define which books are harmful.

Florida leads the country in number of book bans and continues to search for ways to keep its lead. Recently the Commissioner or Education told educators to "weed on purpose" to look for and remove any books that might be controversial.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry recently introduced an online form to facilitate Louisianans' ability to turn in librarians and other educators who make available LGBTQ content, under the guise of "protecting minors".

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy signed the Freedom to Read Act in August ensuring access to diverse stories and viewpoints in schools and libraries throughout the Commonwealth. States that have similar laws include Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Maryland, California, Delaware, Colorado, and Oregon.

Michigan The State Library Association and the ACLU have partnered to create a digital Hostile Territory Map "document[ing] book challenges and other government actions affecting First Amendment...rights in Michigan schools and public libraries".

Missouri ACLU successfully argued to block a vague book banning law that would have put teachers, librarians, and potentially even citizens at risk of being arrested for providing "harmful" materials to minors.

New York Brooklyn Public Library created Books Unbanned which provides free e-cards to teens and young adults anywhere in the country so they can access BPL's digital collection.

Ohio As school vouchers fund more private schools, public school libraries in Ohio are looking at funding cuts that could eliminate some school libraries completely.

Tennessee Rutherford County Library System is facing a wrongful termination lawsuit for firing their Library Director who refused to move 132 children's books to the adult section of the library.

Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick's call to remove over 2,000 titles of "dirty, filthy and vulgar books" from school libraries included two holocaust memoirs Night by Elie Wiesel and The Diary of Anne Frank among other books about the holocaust as well as books by and about marginalized communities including the LGBTQ community. He has since walked back the call to remove books about the holocaust, but otherwise plans to 'come for the books'.

Utah  A state law calls for removal of any book that has been challenged in at least three public school districts. Since the start of the school year eight titles have been banned statewide for a total of forty-four banned books. 

When I talk about book banning and censorship to groups I tell them not to concern themselves with whether or not their local library has books that offend them. It does. Rather, I suggest that they check to see if the library has materials that support their interests and viewpoints. Just as libraries should have something to offend everyone, they should also have something that appeals to everyone. I also try to make clear that while the current crisis in book banning is driven by the right, the left can take their part of the blame as well. I hear the same language used on both sides and the same tactics. Books can be "harmful" and we must protect children from them. Reading passages out of context is another game both sides will play.

The chilling effects of censorship can be seen from both sides as well. Self censorship on the part of authors who will not write books that might be offensive to someone, publishers that will not publish books that they don't believe will sell, libraries that will not purchase them, and booksellers that will not carry them means that everyone loses.

People should be trusted to make their own reading choices. The Freedom to Read Statement, adopted by the ALA in 1953 is just as essential today as it was then.

I recommend following BookRiot, PEN America, The Freedom to Read Project, Everylibrary, and the American Library Association to keep abreast of book bans and challenges, along with other book and library related news.

The Cartographers - by Peng Shepherd

This supernatural story about the Map Division at the New York Public Library was a natural choice for this librarian to read aloud to her geographer husband. The book was recommended to us by one of our friends.

While we are hardly experts, we do know a bit more than your average Joe about maps and mapmaking, so we were familiar with the concept of a phantom settlement - a place on a map that doesn't exist in real life. Mapmakers of yore sometimes included these "paper towns" in order to catch copyright infringers. 

But what if the phantom settlements were real, if only a person had the right map that could lead them there? Some spunky graduate students (aka "The Cartographers)" discover just such a place on a decades-old gas station highway map. Nell Young discovers a rare copy of the map after her father dies in his office at the New York Public Library. Her investigation into his death leads her to some impossible places!

While the Map Division of the NYPL is at the center of this mystery, there are other libraries in this work as well: 

• Nell reads her mother's obituary using old library microfilm machines.
• A robbery at a high school in Scranton, Pennsylvania left an employee with a broken leg and the geography section in shambles. 
• The Cartographers, doing some research through newspapers stories in the Rockland (NY) Public Library, learn of a string of robberies nationwide in libraries, schools, gas stations, museums, and even private homes. They suspect that someone is hunting down copies of what they call the "Agloe map".

A fun summer read.

The Adjunct - by Maria Adelmann

This dark satire about the Academy's gig economy tells the story of Samantha, a PhD living in Baltimore, Maryland (my home town) trying to teach enough classes at two different colleges to keep the wolves at bay. Sam's plight, and that of her fellow adjuncts, is becoming more common as colleges and universities eschew hiring tenure track faculty and rely more on part-time contract faculty. As my husband (James) and I listened to the audiobook we reflected on our own times working as adjunct faculty. While we would never suggest that we were paid well for the work, for us it was never about survival. My contract teaching work was done at a time when a part-time job was exactly what I needed while I was the primary caregiver for our young child. James' part-time teaching was done while he was finishing his PhD and he had a full-time job in IT. He took evening teaching jobs so as to have recent teaching experience when he started looking for a tenure track job. We were lucky. Many of our colleagues had no health insurance, no spouse's salary to fall back on, and no guarantee that they would even have jobs at the end of any given semester.

As a "campus novel" libraries are sprinkled throughout the work providing insight into their myriad uses, including as a student job, a meeting place, and a space for study. Sam also borrows a Chromebook from the Baltimore Public Library because although her department expects her to have one, they do not provide her with one. 

There is a lot of "meta" in this work, including a meta librarian. Sam is an aspiring writer and describes a romance she wrote in which a librarian (who doesn't like romance novels) befriends her stalker, unaware that he is stalking her. Once they develop a relationship he loses interest, and she begins to take an interest in romances.

Of course I always like reading about a library in any book, but it is especially fun when one I've actually been to is mentioned. In this book the Enoch Pratt Free Library was given a shout out.