What books are being targeted at school libraries?
HOUSTON — Gender Queer: A Memoir†by Maia Kobabe, 2019
Summary: An autobiographic graphic novel that charts the nonbinary author’s journey of self-identity, including adolescent crushes and grappling with how to come out to family and society.
Reason cited for challenge: Sexual content
Where challenged: Florida, Maine, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia, Texas, Washington
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“Lawn Boy,†by Jonathan Evison, 2018
Summary: A semiautobiographical coming-of-age novel that tells the story of Mike Muñoz, a young adult Mexican American who has faced hardship since childhood and is going through a new phase of self-discovery.
Reason cited for challenge: Sexual content
Where challenged: Maine, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia
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“New Kid,†by Jerry Craft, 2019
Summary: A graphic novel about a 12-year-old Black boy, Jordan Banks, who experiences culture shock when he enrolls in a private school. The book is semiautobiographical, based on the author’s experiences and those of his two sons.
Reason cited for challenge: “Critical race theoryâ€
Where challenged: Texas
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“The Breakaways,†Cathy G. Johnson, 2019
Summary: A graphic novel focused on a diverse group of kids, including one who comes out as gay, another transgender.
Reasons cited for challenge: Sexual elements, “critical race theoryâ€
Where’s it’s been challenged: Texas
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“Out of Darkness,†by Ashley Hope Pérez, 2015
Summary: A novel about segregation, love, family and the forces that destroy people, based on the 1937 New London, Texas, school explosion.
Reason cited for challenge: Sexual content
Where challenged: Missouri, Texas, Virginia
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“Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story,†Ruby Bridges, 2009
Summary: The true story of how 6-year-old Ruby Bridges braved angry crowds to become the first Black student to attend an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960.
Reason cited for challenge: “Critical race theoryâ€
Where challenged: Tennessee. A related book, “The Story of Ruby Bridges,†by Robert Coles, 1995, was challenged in Kentucky.
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