They Banned Books About Pets!

If you needed proof that the book-banning movement has completely unspooled from reality, look no further than your local library’s pet section.

We have officially entered an era of censorship so absurd it reads like satire: political extremists are now actively trying to shield children from the existential threat of domesticated animals and civic-minded grandmothers.

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As exposed in a recent Salon report on PEN America’s tracking data, censorship groups are no longer even pretending to target "inappropriate" material. Instead, they’ve managed to brand basic, everyday joy as a corrupting influence.

Consider the latest victims of this ideological panic:

• An actual encyclopedia on pet care: The Complete Book of Cats was flagged for removal. Yes, a straightforward, non-fiction guide teaching kids how to feed, groom, and care for a household cat is apparently deemed a threat to public morals.

• A boy, his grandma, and a dog park: In Every Dog in the Neighborhood, a young boy uses basic math to count local pets so his grandmother can advocate for a community dog park. Apparently, civic engagement, neighborhood cooperation, and caring for local animals are now radical acts that belong behind lock and key.

• A cat avoiding a bath: The award-winning picture book Bathe the Cat was targeted simply because the chaotic family trying to wash their reluctant pet happens to have two dads. The offense? Depicting a loving household existing while owning a feline.

Let’s call this what it is: unadulterated paranoia.

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When a factual guide to litter boxes and a story about a kid counting neighborhood dogs are flagged as "dangerous," it proves what we’ve known all along.

This was never about protecting children.

It’s about total control, bureaucratic sabotage, and flooding school boards with so much manufactured outrage that libraries are forced to purge their shelves just to survive the noise.

If an encyclopedia on cat care isn't safe from the chopping block, no book is.

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At EveryLibrary, we refuse to let organized bullies turn our public and school libraries into sanitized deserts where even a story about a golden retriever is viewed with political suspicion.

Libraries exist to spark curiosity, build empathy, and—above all—reflect the actual world kids live in. A world that includes dogs, cats, and grandmas.