Posted on Oct 4, 2023
Michael Connelly, Nikki Grimes, Judy Blume and other authors unite against book bans
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https://www.npr.org/2023/10/04/ [login to see] /michael-connelly-nikki-grimes-judy-blume-and-other-authors-unite-against-book-ba
Last school year, Florida implemented more book bans than any other state in the country — accounting for more than 40% of all bans in the U.S — according to a report issued by PEN America in September.
On Wednesday, during what the American Library Association has deemed Banned Books Week, more than a dozen best-selling authors, including Michael Connelly, Judy Blume and Nikki Grimes, said they are uniting to take a stand against censorship in the state's schools and libraries.
"It's a crazy world when kids are told, 'You should not read that book.' And I think that's a universal feeling among people who do what I do," Connelly told NPR. The crime fiction writer, who grew up in Florida, said he developed a passion for literature thanks to titles like To Kill A Mockingbird. The book was was temporarily removed from Palm Beach County school libraries last year — and had been challenged in other schools and libraries across the U.S.
Last school year, Florida implemented more book bans than any other state in the country — accounting for more than 40% of all bans in the U.S — according to a report issued by PEN America in September.
On Wednesday, during what the American Library Association has deemed Banned Books Week, more than a dozen best-selling authors, including Michael Connelly, Judy Blume and Nikki Grimes, said they are uniting to take a stand against censorship in the state's schools and libraries.
"It's a crazy world when kids are told, 'You should not read that book.' And I think that's a universal feeling among people who do what I do," Connelly told NPR. The crime fiction writer, who grew up in Florida, said he developed a passion for literature thanks to titles like To Kill A Mockingbird. The book was was temporarily removed from Palm Beach County school libraries last year — and had been challenged in other schools and libraries across the U.S.
Michael Connelly, Nikki Grimes, Judy Blume and other authors unite against book bans
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State of Florida
Reading State of Florida
Posted 7 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...""Trying to navigate life's on-ramps, potholes, detours, closures, and occasional magnificent vistas without ample books to help you navigate is like trying to drive a bus without a steering wheel," author and illustrator Mo Willems, joining with Connelly and others, said in a statement Wednesday.
Brit Bennett, who wrote The Vanish Half, is also speaking out against removing books from schools and libraries "It's appalling that a small movement is ripping books off shelves, denying young people the ability to learn and grow intellectually, and frightening their neighbors about what lives on the shelves of their public school," she said.
Recent polling by NPR/IPSOS found that more than 60% of Americans oppose banning books or restricting conversations about race, gender and sexuality in classrooms."
...""Trying to navigate life's on-ramps, potholes, detours, closures, and occasional magnificent vistas without ample books to help you navigate is like trying to drive a bus without a steering wheel," author and illustrator Mo Willems, joining with Connelly and others, said in a statement Wednesday.
Brit Bennett, who wrote The Vanish Half, is also speaking out against removing books from schools and libraries "It's appalling that a small movement is ripping books off shelves, denying young people the ability to learn and grow intellectually, and frightening their neighbors about what lives on the shelves of their public school," she said.
Recent polling by NPR/IPSOS found that more than 60% of Americans oppose banning books or restricting conversations about race, gender and sexuality in classrooms."
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No need to ban. But some things don't belong in elementary school libraries. . . .
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I find it weird Boolean Algebra books seem banned in elementary schools.why is that? The author of Gender Queer admits the book isn’t for grade schoolers. It is ridiculous. When I was that age in New Mexico we argued about who the coolest cowboy out law was. What colored horse we wanted. We built crude traps, explored arroyos. Rode bikes and explored. Nobody who was a boy thought they were a girl and vis versa. Nobody really cared. This is BS
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