Allan Shedlin

Nov 22, 2023

It's Been Another "Banner" Year for Books and Curiosity...and That's Tragic

Updated: Nov 22, 2024

The Daddying Blog's 4th Annual Books To Read with Your Kids

Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide & FREE Book Giveaway

By Scott Beller

Daddying Editor

“I think there is a danger in oversimplifying this conversation. What is necessary is that it be a conversation. That we have more people coming from the right places with the best intentions curating on behalf of young people. And what we have instead are activist groups going over the heads of librarians, who are American heroes and who are trained to have a good eye for what is going to help expand the minds and hearts of young readers.”

- Jonathan Safran Foer, author Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, speaking on MSNBC’s Velshi Banned Book Club, 12/10/22

The first time we took the kids to Boston was 2012. It was a trip filled with amazing adventures, including, their first plane ride, exploring the Boston Children's Museum, saying "hi" to the Make Way for Ducklings statue in Boston's Public Garden, and their essential first visit to Fenway Park to see Big Papi and my Sox play.

But our first area of exploration was Cambridge and Harvard Square. Our girls were going on 3 and 5 years old so, almost immediately, they were drawn to The World's Only Curious George Store, situated at the curved intersection of Brattle and John F. Kennedy Streets. Crowned with an unmistakable, bright-yellow and white Curious George logo, the bookshop's entryway beckoned kids of all ages to come immerse themselves in the misadventures and merchandise of that adorable little monkey. And we did.

My little monkeys on-campus at Harvard, June 2012

Because, by then, my wife and I had instilled in our own curious little monkeys a love of wandering through libraries and bookstores and an appreciation for the magical potential such places hold. Books give you the ability to travel without actually traveling. To experience something you never knew existed. To understand how others feel and think without ever meeting them. To discover a story and realize it is your own. And, maybe, most importantly, the ability to feel understood and see yourself as not alone in a world that often feels isolating, harsh, terrifying, and hopeless.

Books teach. But to many young readers, they are also a refuge. Often, their lifeline.

Like most parents, we've nurtured our kids' love for books and reading from the beginning. Initially, of course, we decided which books to buy based on what we loved to read ourselves as kids, recommendations from others, and what just "looked good" to us as we browsed. But once they were old enough to toddle themselves over to our well-stocked sling book shelf, we gave the kids freedom to pick out the books we read to them. And we did, over and over, until their bindings and dust covers frayed.

Now that they're older and have more demands on their waking hours (*cough* crew *cough*), our girls mostly read for school. Some book selections are dictated by their teachers, but more often, they're given a list of several options from which to choose. That reading list is grade level-appropriate and curated by their teachers and librarians, whose goal is to provide rich materials that will provoke thought, stimulate class discussion, and illuminate issues with historical context.

Thankfully, in our school district, educators are trusted and mostly unrestricted in what reading materials may be offered to students. That is, parents have complete online access to their kids' syllabus. Additionally, we are given advanced notice by teachers if students will be reading books with material that some might consider "sensitive" or having "mature themes," which then allows those parents and their kids to opt out if they choose.

"Book bans in public K–12 schools continue to intensify. In the 2022–23 school year, PEN America recorded 3,362 instances of books banned, an increase of 33 percent from the 2021–22 school year." - PEN America

What we don't do is let one parent (or activist) dictate what an entire class, school, or school district reads. We let professional educators do their jobs of opening kids' minds, providing opportunities, and introducing new ideas, cultures, and perspectives so that our kids may learn how to think and choose for themselves.

Of course, not all ideas, cultures, or ways of thinking are comfortable to everyone. Ideally, this discomfort plays out as an exchange of ideas, a new understanding of other points of view, compassion, and awareness of common ground even if total agreement or acceptance can't be reached. But recently, this discomfort has instead sparked more attempts to control decisions for everyone based on the beliefs of a relative few extremist groups.

I say "recently," but, really, it's just the latest iteration of the same hate and unconstitutional effort to seize control that's been around for generations. Only this time, extremists in our country have been invited in from the fringe and emboldened to spread their bigotry and intolerance far and wide. Not in code, but full-throated and in broad daylight. And banning books, particularly those that share the history and experiences of long-oppressed minorities in America, is a flagrant sign of a democracy in trouble. A helpful reminder: the book banners have never been the good guys.

Standing up to extremist bullies is a patriotic act in Philly!

Thankfully, the vast majority of students, parents, educators, and the rest of our multicultural voting public around the country have been rejecting this renewed assault on books, the backbone of education and free thought. Last summer, I wrote about our trip up to Philadelphia to watch my daughter row in the annual Independence Day Regatta (IDR). One of the highlights was witnessing the massive pushback by citizens' peacefully demonstrating against the misnamed "Moms for Liberty," a book-banning group in town for its annual "summit" and, presumably, to spit directly in the face of our founding fathers. Appropriately, the protest was loosely organized by a group of current and former librarians. The group distributed materials from various LGBTQ+ and library support groups and the Free Library of Philadelphia, which we are proud to say will be the site of next year's Daddying Film Fest and Forum (D3F) live event.

Although some state legislatures and ideologues continue to challenge our kids' right to read and think, public sentiment against them has only grown stronger. In my state of Virginia, I'm thankful that after our recent election results, the threat to education, books, libraries, and classroom sanity has been neutralized. For now.

If there's one thing I've learned as a voter, reader, AND parent, it's that we must stay engaged. We must be ever-vigilant so that we're prepared for whatever comes next. Speaking of what's next, the best thing about putting together our annual Books to Read with Your Kids Holiday Gift Guide is it always reminds me of the great stories I used to read with my girls:

Moo, Baa, La La La

Hippos Go Berserk

The Sneetches and Other Stories

Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?

Are You My Mother?

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

More Bears!

Chicky Chicky Chook Chook

Knuffle Bunny

Rocko and Spanky Have Company

Olivia

Make Way For Ducklings

Many of these and others have found a permanent home on my office bookshelf (and some have returned to the Gift Guide below). Seeing them each day, if only for a moment, helps me hold onto those lovely days and nights when the kids could still crawl onto my lap, lean against my chest, and eagerly turn pages while listening to me do all the voices. Sadly, The World's Only Curious George Store closed in 2021 due to financial difficulties with the pandemic. But our memory of visiting that amazing shop on our daughters' first big trip will stay with me forever. One day, I hope I am able to read and enjoy them all over again with my grandchildren.

When she was two, there was no better way for our Morgie to greet the day.

You'll see that this year's list again contains plenty of our family's and Allan's old favorites as well as many, many new and recently-released titles. You'll also notice that the overall number of books in each grade-level category has grown – well over 80+ books in each, including several award-winning books that have, nonetheless, been banned or targeted in the U.S. With such a large and diverse selection, we're sure you'll be able to find an amazing, imagination-stirring, thought-provoking story to share with every reader on your holiday shopping list.

Also be sure to register for FREE to win a great kids book in our Rafflecopter giveaway, which runs today through Monday, December 18. Giveaway books are identified below in the Gift Guide and you'll find the giveaway posted at the bottom. And, if you'd like to help ensure that kids of all backgrounds can enjoy the gift of reading in the coming year, please consider donating to FirstBook.org this Giving Tuesday.

Thanks for reading, shopping, and entering/sharing our awesome giveaway!

Daddying Books to Read With Your Kids

2023 Holiday Gift Guide

FREE Book Giveaway Details Below Guide

EDITOR'S NOTE: Many of the books on our list, including many award winners, have been banned at some point in the past, are currently banned in at least one school district in the U.S., or are actively being targeted by anti-civil rights, pro-censorship, and other repressive groups in an attempt to have them banned from school libraries, classrooms, public libraries, and even bookstores in communities across the United States. Targeted/banned books below are denoted with asterisks*. and are categorized according to publisher/booksellers' suggested age groups. When you deem them age-appropriate for your own children, we wholeheartedly recommend you read and discuss them together, over and over again. Happy holidays to you and yours – READ and Daddy on!

Books for Younger Kids (Pre-K and Under 8):

Amazing kids' titles, past and present. Even more amazing: nearly half of the books pictured above and many others listed below have been targeted and/or banned from school libraries and classrooms in some parts of our country.