book ban

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New Jersey Bans Book Bans
New Jersey Bans Book Bans
Dec 9, 2024 2:49 PM CST

New Jersey Bans Book Bans

New law covers school, public libraries

(Newser) - New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law Monday to prohibit public and school libraries from banning books in the state and to enshrine protections against civil and criminal charges for librarians who comply with the law. The measure is set to take effect in a year, but the...

Texas Board Reclassifies Indigenous Book as 'Fiction'

Move comes after Montgomery County removed librarians from the process

(Newser) - A review board in Texas has made the controversial decision to reclassify a book about a Native American tribe from nonfiction to fiction in a public library. The move regarding Colonization and the Wampanoag Story came after Montgomery County stripped the review board of librarians, reports LoneStarLive.com . The rationale...

Publishers, Authors Sue Florida Over Book Bans

State law has led to classics 'being unlawfully labeled obscene and removed from shelves'

(Newser) - Book publishers including Penguin Random House, the nation's biggest, are suing Florida over what they say is "unconstitutional legislation" that has caused thousands of books to be banned. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Orlando Thursday says book bans have surged since the state's controversial HB...

Utah to Schools: Dispose of These 13 Books

Statewide ban includes titles by Margaret Atwood, Judy Blume

(Newser) - Utah has given schools statewide a list of 13 books deemed "pornographic or indecent" that must be "legally disposed of," including Margaret Atwood's Oryx & Crake and Judy Blume's Forever. They have been banned under a new state law that requires books to be outlawed...

She's Shipping Hundreds of LGBTQ+ Books Across the US

Becka Robbins of San Francisco's Fabulosa Books is pushing back against nationwide book bans

(Newser) - In an increasingly divisive political sphere, Becka Robbins focuses on what she knows best—books. Operating out of a tiny room in Fabulosa Books in San Francisco's Castro District, one of the oldest gay neighborhoods in the United States, Robbins uses donations from customers to ship boxes of books...

School Board Bans Ban This Book
School Board Bans
Ban This Book
Jun 12, 2024 12:53 PM CDT

School Board Bans Ban This Book

Florida board members say it teaches 'rebellion of school board authority'

(Newser) - In a move that author Alan Gratz calls "incredibly ironic," a Florida school board has banned his book Ban This Book. The 2017 book is about a fictional fourth grader who starts a secret library of banned books in her locker after a librarian tells her that her...

These Are the 10 Most Challenged Books

LGBTQ themes feature in many of the books highlighted by the American Library Association

(Newser) - Book censorship hit "the highest levels ever documented" last year, according to the American Library Association , which saw the number of challenged titles climb 65% in 2023 over the previous year. "These are books that contain the ideas, the opinions, and the voices that censors want to silence—...

'Major Win' in Fight Against Dictionary-Yanking School District

Federal judge allows lawsuit against Florida's Escambia County School District to proceed

(Newser) - A Florida school district is keeping students from accessing dictionaries which, in defining sex and other concepts, are considered to violate the state law prohibiting materials in schools that depict or describe sexual conduct, per the Messenger . Escambia County School District has pulled more than 1,600 books from school...

Largest US Publisher, Authors Sue Iowa Over Book Ban

Law that governor says protects children from pornography has been applied to '1984,' 'The Color Purple'

(Newser) - The nation's largest publisher and several bestselling authors, including novelists John Green and Jodi Picoult, are part of a lawsuit filed Thursday challenging Iowa's new law that forbids public school libraries and classrooms to stock practically any book that depicts sexual activity. The lawsuit is the second in the...

Pink Has a Feisty Response to Florida Book Bans

Singer will give out thousands of banned or restricted books at Miami, Sunrise concerts this week

(Newser) - Groups and individuals have said they're boycotting visits to Florida and refusing to hold events in the Sunshine State due to Gov. Ron DeSantis' new laws on gender-affirming care, abortion, gun ownership, and teaching race- and LGBTQ+-themed subjects in school, among others. Pink is taking a different tack: The...

Steve Martin Celebrates Banning of His Book
Steve Martin's
Book Gets Banned,
He Celebrates
in case you missed it
Nov 12, 2023 7:00 AM CST

Steve Martin's Book Gets Banned, He Celebrates

'Shopgirl' among more than 300 titles removed from schools in Collier County, Florida

(Newser) - A Florida school district has banned one of Steve Martin's books—and he's "so proud." The actor and writer took to his social media accounts on Monday to celebrate the banning of his bestselling novella Shopgirl by the Collier County School District. "So proud to...

Author's Kids Book Flagged for a 'Laughable' Reason

Picture book placed on review list for Alabama library due to writer Mary-Louise Gay's last name

(Newser) - Marie-Louise Gay's children's books often pop up on various recommended lists, like "books to watch for" and books that "inspire a love of reading." At one Alabama library, however, one of the award-winning Canadian author and illustrator's picture books was placed on a list...

Obama's Dissent to Book Ban Hits TikTok

Former president says censorship of opposing viewpoints is 'profoundly misguided'

(Newser) - Fighting back against efforts to ban books from schools and public libraries, the American Library Association has found a prominent supporter in former President Obama. In an open letter to the nation's librarians, Obama denounces attempts to censor "some of the books that shaped my life—and...

District Sued After Restricting Access to Penguins' Story

Florida district keeps book about two male penguins and a chick from youngest students

(Newser) - Florida's restrictions on gender identity and sexual orientation as classroom subject matter are being challenged by the authors of a book about penguins—and students who want to read it. The Lake County school board decided last year to prevent students in kindergarten through third grade from having access...

'One of Most Sex-Ridden Books Around' Returned to School Shelves

Utah's Davis School District reverses decision

(Newser) - Bibles will return to the shelves in a northern Utah school district that provoked an outcry after it banned them from middle and elementary schools last month, the AP reports. Officials from the Davis School District said at a board meeting Tuesday that the district had determined the sacred text...

Illinois Libraries That Ban Books Won't Get Funding

'First of its kind' law has been signed

(Newser) - Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday signed into law a bill that he says will make Illinois the first state in the nation to outlaw book bans, the AP reports. Illinois public libraries that restrict or ban materials because of “partisan or doctrinal” disapproval will be ineligible for state...

Critics Say Winnie-the-Pooh Book Normalizes Shootings

Book featuring Winnie the Pooh puts onus on the kids, according to Dallas-area teacher

(Newser) - Texas has led the country in banning books from school libraries . For its part, the Dallas Independent School District has said it may remove library materials that are "pervasively vulgar." Amid that context, parents of district students are wondering why a book that they argue normalizes school shootings...

School Library Scraps Inaugural Poem After Parent Complaint

Amanda Gorman says she's 'gutted' that 'The Hill We Climb' was taken out of Fla. elementary library

(Newser) - The young poet who performed her spoken-word piece at President Biden's 2021 inauguration is now at the center of the latest book-banning controversy. Citing documents from the Florida Freedom to Read Project, Politico reports that Amanda Gorman's poem "The Hill We Climb" has been removed from the...

Illinois Approves Bill to Counter Book Banning

Adopting the Library Bill of Rights would be required to keep state funding

(Newser) - Illinois lawmakers greenlighted a bill Wednesday that says libraries in the state must adopt an anti-book banning policy to receive state funding, in a vote that fissured along party lines. The measure, spearheaded by Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, represents a counter-movement to growing efforts to restrict books on topics...

House GOP Pushes Through 'Parents Rights' Bill

Dems say legislation, which will likely stall in Senate, is a stunt that's really designed to control

(Newser) - House Republicans on Friday narrowly passed legislation that would fulfill a campaign promise to give parents a role in what's taught in public schools. It has little chance in the Democrat-run Senate, and critics say it will propel a far-right movement that has led to book bans, restrictions aimed...

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