Banned Books in the News

January 28, 2022

On January 10, 2022, a school board in Tennessee voted to remove "Maus", a Pulitzer prize-winning graphic novel by Art Spiegelman from its eighth grade language arts curriculum, claiming concern for profanity and female nudity in the text.

This graphic novel depicts the Holocaust, one of the most vile and terrible acts ever committed against human beings.  To censor this book is to take away our children's need to learn and understand what happened during this time. 

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum tweeted how important it is to use books such as "Maus":  "Teaching about the Holocaust using books like Maus can inspire students to think critically about the past and their own roles and responsibilities today."

In a Washington state school district, a school board voted to remove "To Kill a Mockingbird" from its required reading list due to "racism." 

This recent push to censor and ban books is concerning, but not surprising.  What many of these parents and organizations who are pushing to ban books don't realize is, when a book is censored, it's like telling a kid not to push that BIG RED BUTTON.  What does the kid do?  The kid pushes the button!  Censored books are like Big Red Buttons:  kids want to read what adults tell them they can't.

The day after I heard "Maus" was banned in Tennessee, I pulled my copy from the Graphic Novels/Manga section in my library and faced it out so it was on display for all to see.  My next order of business will be to gather all the banned books I have in my library and put them on a special display.