Banning Books About... Banned Books?!

As part of our ongoing work to monitor and challenge book censorship across the nation, we recently analyzed the expanded list of targeted titles associated with Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick's campaign to censor school libraries.

While thousands of titles have been swept up in these broad censorship efforts, there is a striking irony in the specific books being targeted.

Among the titles on Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s book-banning list are books explicitly written about censorship, intellectual freedom, and the fight to keep books accessible.

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Four notable titles featured on this list include:

1. Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada

   • What it’s about: Set during the 1980s South Korean military regime, this graphic novel memoir follows a college student who joins an underground reading group. Together, they read banned texts to resist authoritarian state censorship and fight for freedom of expression.

2. Banned Together by Ashley Hope Perez with others

   • What it’s about: An anthology featuring stories, essays, and perspectives directly tackling the impact of censorship on young readers and celebrating the power of coming together to stand up for free speech.

3. Attack of the Black Rectangles by Amy Sarig King

   • What it’s about: A middle-grade novel centered on a sixth-grader who discovers that words in a class reading book have been literally blacked out with a marker by school administrators. The protagonist and his friends learn how to organize, speak out, and advocate against local censorship.

4. Answers in the Pages by David Levithan

   • What it’s about: A story following a fifth-grade student who discovers that his school board is trying to ban a book assigned to his class after a parent complains. The narrative explores how young people, parents, and community members navigate local book challenges and stand up for their right to read.

When censors begin targeting books that warn against censorship itself, it underscores just how critical our collective mission is.

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These books offer readers vital lessons on history, critical thinking, and standing up for democratic rights.