Two novels about censorship for elementary/middle school

One of my favourite books ever deals with the topic of censorship. Alan Gratz handles it in a smart way in Ban This Book. I read it in two evenings and loved it. This is a brilliant, funny story based on a very real concern, that of banning books in school libraries. Gratz skillfully deals with both sides of the issue in a great way. He leaves the power to solve the problem to the kids, especially to Amy Anne who loves her school library. But the book also manages to show parental concern, the responsibilities of school boards and – most of all – the importance of having a real librarian in the school library and the influence books can have on a child’s life. The story shows how school libraries can be critical to the development of children. His main character grows and changes throughout the story. Gratz neatly quotes real titles, real authors (Dav Pilkey is a visiting author in the story) and refers to real book banning cases, wrapping up all loose ends in a satisfying manner. Highly recommended for kids, activists, parents, school administrators and all library lovers.

Starscape, Tom Doherty Associates. ISBN 978-0-7653-8558-1

I had the same high expectation for another book on the same topic, with an attractive cover: Property of the Rebel Librarian by Allison Varnes.

But what a disappointment. Seemingly out of the blue, June’s parents decide that, even though she is in Grade Seven, a book about ghosts is too scary for her. They not only take that book away from her but also any and all books she owns. Then a moving van shows up at her school and all books in the library get removed. June slowly collects books again and lends them out to other. While the topic is an important one for young readers to learn about, and even touches on Little Free Libraries, I found this book too unbelievable to ring true for me.

Yearling, ISBN 978-1-5247-7150-8

Margriet Ruurs is the author of many books for children and conducts author visits via ZOOM.