Thread by @WillMcAvoyACN

And on the subject of banning books:

While Dr. Seuss's books have not been banned, but rather his publishing firm elected to stop publishing new editions of books that are very widely available. These books will still be easy to obtain in used book stores and libraries.

And while @ALALibrary keeps an annual list of the most challenged and banned books, I thought it might be worthwhile to look at which books are actually banned or challenged from our local libraries and why, to give us an idea of where this battle is actually being fought.

So, yes, this will be a THREAD about the books that are currently being banned or challenged in American libraries. The data comes from @ALALibrary's 2019 Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists, which was the most recent data I could find (the 2020 list was a decade long list).

Our first banned book is And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson with illustrations by Henry Cole.

Inspired by true events, it tells the story of two male chinstrap penguins who start a family with the help of a donated egg that they help hatch.

And Tango Makes Three was first released in 2005, and was for many years one of the most challenged books in libraries. Even in 2019, with same-sex marriage as the law of the land and gaining considerable popular support, it remains in the top ten of the most challenged books.

Up next on our banned books list we have Drama written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier.

Drama is a graphic novel intended for a middle school audience. It tells the story of Callie, who is dealing with the typical middle school drama, all while trying to put on a musical.

In the book Callie deals with a series of confusing crushes, and features a pair of brothers, both of whom come out to Callie as gay. Of course this all comes together on closing night of the musical when a sudden breakup among the cast means a new romantic lead must be found.

First published in the fall of 2012, Publishers Weekly and the Washington Post named Drama one of the best books of the year, and was nominated for a Harvey Award, an industry award recognizing achievement in comic books.

Drama remains a frequently banned/challenge title.

Next on our tour of banned books is I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas.

I am Jazz tells of Jennings personal struggle with having “a girl brain but a boy body,” her family’s confusion over & acceptance of her gender identity.

Published in 2014, I Am Jazz has been a mainstay on the banned books list since its publication, due to it's pro-transgender message.

Our next actually banned book is Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack, illustrated by Stevie Lewis.

The children's picture book is a classic fairy-tale story where a courageous knight and a strong-willed Prince must work together to defeat a dragon that is threatening their kingdom.

The twist, of course, is that while their original mission was to find a princess for the Prince to marry, he ends up falling in love with the Knight, and the two wed at the end of the book.

First published in 2018, the book has been a lightning rod for banning attempts since.

Up next we've got Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg, illustrated by Fiona Smyth. The only non-narrative book on the list, it explores the topics of bodies, gender, and sexuality for children ages 8 to 10 as well as their parents and caregivers.

Written by a Canadian sex educator, Sex is a Funny Word is praised for its thoughtfulness and modern awareness, it has none-the-less been a frequent target for book bans from libraries, mostly for those very same reasons.

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin is a collection of stories from transgender teens that was one of the most banned books of 2019.

Also on the list is a title you may recognize: A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss and illustrated by EG Keller. This book, written by a @LastWeekTonight staffer, designed to parody then Vice President Mike Pence and his well-documented anti-LGBT beliefs.

The book, first published in 2018, tells the story of two male bunnies who fall in love and the stinkbug who decides they should not be able to be married. The stinkbug is ultimately voted out of power, and the bunnies go off on their bunnymoon.

Finally, we get to the most banned book of 2019. And that book is George by Alex Gino. The novel tells the story of Melissa, a fourth-grade girl who is struggling to be herself to the rest of the world, who sees her as a boy named George.

Melissa really wants to play the role of Charlotte in the classroom's reading of Charlotte's Web, but she is not given the chance because she "is a boy". So she hatches a plan to swap roles with a friend of hers in order to show the world who she really is.

Since it's publication in 2015, George has been among the most challenged/banned books, including being the single most challenged book in 2018 and 2019.

These were not the only books that were frequently banned, but the new emergence of LGBTQ+ children's literature has put it at the forefront of the current banned books battles, ahead of things like The Handmaiden's Tale and Harry Potter, which are also frequent targets.

Some of my more astute readers may have noticed that I began this thread with a slightly modified Kurt Vonnegut quote, who spoke about book burning and the wonders of librarians who are often on the forefront of this battle.

The good news is that librarians often fight attempts to ban books like these. Indeed, many libraries that have been subject to book bans will intentionally put these books in a different location in order to allow those who are interested to maintain access to them.

But the next time you hear someone complain about Dr. Seuss being canceled, ask them about any of the books on this list that are facing bans, and ask them which of these images is worse and why.

And also know that there are librarians who will ensure that access to both remain for years to come, because that's what librarians do.

"So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.” - Kurt Vonnegut.

I would be remissed if I did not mention the tweet from @cmclymer that inspired me to go down this... let's say bunny hole.

https://twitter.com/cmclymer/status/1366944715359289344?s=20