Children’s novel “Ban This Book” banned by school district in Florida

Last month, the Indian River School Board voted to remove Ban this bookby Alan Gratz from the shelves, ignoring the decision of its own book review committee in Florida to reject an objection to the book.

The children’s novel is about a fictional fourth-grader who builds a secret library of forbidden books in her locker after the local school board bans these titles.

Members of the Indian River School Board said they did not like the references to other books that had been removed from schools and accused the book of teaching “rebellion against the authority of the school board.”

Ban this bookhoused in two elementary school libraries and a middle school, was challenged by Jennifer Pippin, the president of the local branch of Moms for Liberty, a right-wing group that regularly rails against books it says contain “age-inappropriate content” and address LGBTQ rights, among other fabricated complaints.

The school board voted 3-2 to remove the book from shelves. Two candidates endorsed by Moms for Liberty voted in favor of its removal, as did a third member, Kevin McDonald. McDonald was recently appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill a vacant seat following the inopportune resignation of Brian Barefoot.

McDonald attempted to justify banning the book by claiming that the panel was acting on behalf of parents who wanted to prevent their children from being “indoctrinated” or exposed to supposedly “woke” ideas.

“The title itself and the subject matter challenge our authority,” McDonald said of Ban this book“And it even goes so far that books deemed inappropriate by school authorities are not only mentioned… but listed.”

McDonald accused the book’s author, Gratz, of justifying the behavior of the main character Amy Anne – who breaks several school rules to get around the book ban – because she disagrees with the school board’s decision.

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He said the book undermines the authority of the real school board by making it appear as if it condones Amy Anne’s behavior and her decision to disregard the will of the local school board.

BookLooks.org, a book review website affiliated with Moms for Liberty that rates the content of books that conservatives consider “inappropriate,” gives only Ban this book a rating of 1 out of 5, but still considers the book a criticism because it “promotes activism in young children.”

Pippin, who filed the complaint to remove the book, alleged that the book contained “sexual content.” Pippin, who was tasked with developing a government-funded training program on book removal for school librarians and media specialists, had previously had other books removed from school libraries.

Among the books Pippin wants removed are Toni Morrison’s Very blue eyesKhaled Hosseini Kite RunnerKurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse fiveand the graphic novel The Diary of Anne Frank: The Graphic Adaptation.

In response to Pippin’s objection to a children’s book showing a goblin’s bare bottom, the school district drew clothing over the character.

More than 140 books have been removed from school libraries in Indian River County because of allegedly “inappropriate” content.

But school board members who had objected to the removal of Gratz’s book were critical of the measure.

“(Ban this book) does not depict or describe sexual conduct, period,” said Teri Barenborg, chair of the Indian River School Board. “Maybe it references other books that do, but it itself does not. It’s a sweet little book about a little girl trying to defy the establishment. Does she go about it the right way? No. Does she learn her lesson? Yes.”

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Barenborg pointed out that those who voted for the ban ignored the fact that the book had been reviewed by a panel of parents and school officials both at the time of purchase and after the criticism. The reviewers ultimately decided against banning the book.

“We had several people read this book before it came to us,” she said. “And yet we’re going to be the five people who (overrule the committee) … that’s hard for me.”

Ban this book was also challenged in Clay County, Florida, but school officials ultimately decided not to withdraw the book.

Florida Freedom to Read, an organization that campaigns against censorship, called Indian River County’s decision Ban this book “really absurd” in a post on X.

The @IRCSchools The Board voted against the Committee’s decision, @AlanGratz‘s Ban This Book. They banned a book because it mentions other banned books.

It’s really absurd. pic.twitter.com/JBpSC6zEQA

— Florida Freedom to Read Project (@FLFreedomRead) June 2, 2024

Gratz, the author of the book, called the school board’s decision in an interview with USA today.

“They banned the book because it’s about the books they banned and because it’s about banning books,” he said. “It feels like they know exactly what they’re doing and they’re a little ashamed of what they’re doing and they don’t want a book on the shelves that exposes them.”

He also refuted claims that the book was sexual in nature or called for “rebellion” against elected authority.

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“It doesn’t teach rebellion against the school board, it teaches civic engagement,” Gratz said. “If that means standing up against what your school board is doing, then that means standing up against what your school board is doing.”

Gratz accused the book’s critics of taking things out of context or misrepresenting facts to justify removing the book from the shelves.

“They don’t want those books to exist,” he said, noting that books by and about communities of color and the LGBTQ community are the ones most likely to be challenged. “Now they don’t want my book on the shelf because it would show kids that those books exist: The books they can’t even get at the library.”