In Which I Reflect on Book Bans

There's been a lot of outrage in the press and on social media lately about the removal of the holocaust centered graphic novel, Maus by Art Spiegelman, from the 8th grade curriculum in McMinn County, Tennessee because it was determined to be inappropriate due to "nudity and profane language". Given that the "nudity" cited is nude mice and the profanity is fairly tame and nothing the average 8th grader wouldn't have heard before, it's pretty clearly posturing on the part of the district. The district did later release a statement saying that they do believe it's important for students to learn about the holocaust and that they were looking for a more "age appropriate" book to use. Since the unit was reportedly coming up soon, unfortunately what's most likely to happen this year is that the holocaust unit will be cancelled. But even if it's continued with a more "age appropriate" text, the probability is that whatever text is chosen won't convey the horrors of the holocaust the way the true story of a holocaust survivor does. While I love historical fiction and think it's a good gateway to introduce the topic of the holocaust to younger children, the fact is too much of it either doesn't touch on the worst parts (such as Anne Frank's diary, which ends before the was captured and sent to a concentration camp) or focuses on the heroism of gentiles (such as Lois Lowry's Number the Stars). I love both of the mentioned books and am not saying kids shouldn't read them, but that can't be where the lesson stops, particularly not for older students. 

Some people try to give book removals and bans a positive twist, saying that kids will for sure want to read a book that's been banned and will run out to buy it or check it out of the public library. This may happen with a few kids, but the fact is that the majority of kids either won't be inspired to read a banned book or might want to but won't have access to it. Eighth graders are 13 or 14. They can't get to a library or bookstore on their own, and they most often don't have their own money. If their parents don't want them reading Maus, they won't get access to it.

While the removal of Maus has gotten a lot of attention, it's just one example of a nationwide trend of books being banned or just quietly removed from classrooms, school libraries, and even some public libraries. The most commonly banned/removed books are those written by BIPOC and/or queer authors featuring BIPOC and/or queer kids. Just glancing through my 11yo's bookshelf, I found three books that I know have been the subject of bans. In some cases the authors have had school visits booked and had the visits cancelled last minute because parents protested.

In these cases as well, some misinformed people are saying that authors should see the bans as a badge of honor and saying that bans only increase sales. The problem is, while bans might give an author a slight bump in sales, those sales will be to adults and are unlikely to get the books in the hands of the kids who really need them. For most of history, children's books featured white cishet kids almost exclusively. On the rare occasion the protagonist wasn't white, the author usually was. While the representation is still far from even, now more and more books about BIPOC kids written by BIPOC authors are being published. Some, like Jerry Craft's New Kid, which won a Newbery, are even winning major awards. However, that does not make them immune to being challenged. New Kid, along with a huge number of other books starring Black kids, is being challenged around the nation as part of the push against "critical race theory" being taught in public schools. Which is so far off the mark it would be laughable if it weren't so serious. The two other books pictured, Drama by Raina Telgemeier and The Insiders by Mark Oshiro, have been challenged because they feature queer characters, which, in the view of some parents, makes them "inappropriate" at best and "pornographic" at worst. A list of books removed for review in one school district over potential "pornographic" content includes picture books about transgender children.

For authors, these bans are bad for a few reasons. First of all, many queer and BIPOC writers decided to write for children specifically because they didn't see kids like them in books growing up and they wanted to give that experience to children. More practically, these bans are causing income loss for authors. Not only are fewer books selling because schools can't buy them, but the authors either aren't scheduling school visits or are having already booked visits cancelled. School visits are often a huge part of the income of children's writers.

Most important, I think, is the effect these bans have on children. For some kids, especially those in low income areas, the classroom and school library are the places they have access to books. It's incredibly valuable for these kids to read books whose heroes look like them. Queer kids from conservative families can be particularly hurt. Some school librarians report kids reading books during library time that their parents would never allow them to bring home. These kids might know they're gay or transgender and not feel safe telling their families, or they might be starting to ask questions about gender identity and sexuality that they don't feel they can ask at home. Books featuring queer kids can be a literal lifesaver for these kids, who sadly have a higher suicide rate than the general population.

Even for white, cishet kids, reading books about BIPOC and queer kids is incredibly valuable. They need to know that these kids exist, that they can be heroes of fantastical adventures or, alternatively, that they also have normal lives and normal kid problems and really aren't so different after all. Kids from Christian families need to see Muslim kids, Jewish kids, and kids from other minority religions in the books they read.

So far, book bans have not reached my district. I'm blessed to live in an area that's pretty progressive for Kentucky, and our district has been headed by a Black superintendent for the past six years, which I think is likely to ward off books being removed under a false charge of teaching "critical race theory". That doesn't mean my district is definitely safe, though, and I'm prepared to challenge the school board if the bans make their way here. In the meantime, I'm doing my part to see that my white, Christian, cishet (at least as far as I know) fifth grader reads books starring all kind of kids and not just kids that look like her and believe the things she believes.