Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.
Celebrated since 1982, Banned Books Week has been bringing the book-reading community together – celebrating the freedom to read, seek, and express ideas. With the rise in books being questioned or challenged, this week is an opportunity to bring to light the negative impact of censorship.
This collection of books features just a few of the books that have been questioned or challenged from indie publishers:
It’s Just a Plant by Ricardo Cortés
A beautifully illustrated picture book that gives parents a way to discuss marijuana with children without encouraging them to use it.
“Absolutely ‘kid friendly’ in tone, organization and presentation, It’s Just a Plant: A Children’s Story about Marijuana is especially recommended for family, preschool, elementary school, and community library…collections.”
—Midwest Book Review
A Tale of Two Daddies by Vanita Oelschlager, Kristin Blackwood (Illustrator)
In this affectionate story, a small girl answers a friend’s questions about what it is like to have two fathers.
This picture book is intended for 4- to 8-year olds, and introduces a type of family increasingly visible in modern society and reflects a child’s practical and innocent look at the adults who nurture and love her. It becomes clear that the family’s loving bond is unburdened by any cultural discomforts.
Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino, Isabelle Malenfant (Illustrator)
Morris is a little boy who loves using his imagination. But most of all, Morris loves his classroom’s dress-up center and its tangerine dress.
“Morris is a complex character whose creativity and personality shine. . . . Sensitive and reassuring.”
—Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW
Montana 1948: A Novel by Larry Watson
The tragic tale of a Montana family ripped apart by scandal and murder.
“a significant and elegant addition to the fiction of the American West” —Washington Post
Winner of the Milkweed National Fiction Prize
Weird Girl and What’s His Name
by Meagan Brothers
Meagan Brother’s piercing prose in this fresh LGBT YA novel speaks to anyone who has ever felt unwanted and alone, and who struggles to find their place in an isolating world.
“‘Weird Girl and What’s His Name’ will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to school and community library collections.” —Midwest Book Review
“A satisfying breath of fresh air.” —Lambda Literary
The Story of the Banned Book
by Mohamed Shoair, Humphrey Davies (Translator)
An award-winning account of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz’s most controversial novel and the fierce debates that it provoked
Extensively researched and written in a lucid, accessible style, The Story of the Banned Book is both a gripping work of investigative journalism and a window onto some of the fiercest debates around culture and religion to have taken place in Egyptian society over the past half-century.
