Join us for Banned Books Week 2024! This year we are celebrating freedom of speech, books, and the joy of reading with the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC). Come to our Barbara K. Lipman Children’s History Library all week (September 21 - 29) and explore some of the books in our collection that have been included on banned book lists. Enjoy these amazing stories that the NCAC is fighting to protect.
Each of the books on display has a description written by one of the NCAC’s Student Advocates for Free Speech, explaining why these books should be read and enjoyed by all.
Banned Books Week started in 1984, as a response to increased calls for censorship. Censorship is when a government or organization requires people to change or stop their speech, writing, or art because their words are considered harmful to society. The organizers of Banned Books Week, and all the people who have participated over the last 40 years, want people to have the freedom to choose what they read, regardless of other people’s opinions.
The American Library Association recorded 4,240 unique books that were targeted for removal from schools and libraries in 2023. This is the highest number in the ALA’s 20 years of records, and it shows why now more than ever it is important to protect access to books for all people
Of the many books that were banned or challenged in 2023, the majority focused on LGBTQ+ and racial themes. Celebrated stories that have brought representation and understanding to so many children are being criticized for one of the very things that makes them great.
Check out the list below learn about a few of the amazing books in our library collection that have been included in banned book lists.
This Day in June
In a wildly whimsical, validating, and exuberant reflection of the LGBTQ+ community, This Day In June welcomes readers to experience a pride celebration and share in a day when we are all united.
Henry's Freedom Box
A stirring, dramatic story of an enslaved person who mails himself to freedom by a Jane Addams Peace Award-winning author and a Coretta Scott King Award-winning artist.
A High Five for Glenn Burke
When sixth grader Silas Wade does a school presentation on former Major Leaguer Glenn Burke, it’s more than just a report about the irrepressible inventor of the high five. Burke was a gay baseball player in the 1970s—and for Silas, the presentation is his own first baby step toward revealing a truth about himself he's tired of hiding.
Indian No More
When Regina's Umpqua tribe is legally terminated and her family must relocate from Oregon to Los Angeles, she goes on a quest to understand her identity as an Indian despite being so far from home.
Find even more books to love at our next Reading into History program from 1 - 3pm on Sunday, October 6. We’ll have historical activities to try, fun snacks to taste, and a whole new selection of amazing books to browse and preview. Whether you are always looking for your history-loving child’s next read or want to try your hand at some historical skills as a family, feel free to drop in!
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