From: https://socialjusticebooks.org/booklists/banned-books/?fbclid=IwAR15Ghog3-UOqYrYMx_vMnMGXl-T4iL6PR_EdjkdNaHi4QcAmFY89vYrbRI
Our Recommended Banned Books
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According to PEN America, book bans and challenges have increased exponentially since 2021, and hundreds of books are being taken off shelves and out of classrooms. The majority of banned books are written by and about Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian-American, and LGBTQ+ authors and characters whose stories speak powerful and important truths about history, identity, resilience, and imagination.
In response, many people are hosting banned book readings, giveaways, and displays. To support these efforts, we created a list of some of our favorite banned books.
How do we know these are banned books? Most of the titles are in the comprehensive PEN America database. A few titles were reported to us directly by teachers.
There are some “top ten” banned books that get a lot of attention and, consequently, increased sales — while others risk going out of print due to the censorship and limited limelight. For this reason, our list does not include many wonderful authors whose books we also recommend, such as Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, All Boys Aren’t Blue by George Johnson, and Beloved and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.
Titles that we recommend are featured below. The ones with reviews have an asterisk (*). At the end of this page is a list of titles that we do not recommend.
The Day You Begin*
By Jacqueline Woodson, Rafael López
Spanish version available here: El Día En Que Descubres Quién Eres
Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music*
By Margarita Engle, Rafael Lopez (Illustrator)
Each Kindness *
By Jacqueline Woodson, E. B. Lewis (Illustrator)
Last Stop on Market Street*
By Matt De La Pena, Christian Robinson (Illustrator)
Our Skin: A First Conversation
About Race *
By Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, and Isabel Roxas (Illustrator)
The People Shall Continue *
By Simon Ortiz
Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart
By Zetta Elliott and Noa Denmon (Illustrator)
Bayou Magic
By Jewell Parker Rhodes
Before We Were Free *
By Julia Alvarez
The House on Mango Street
By Sandra Cisneros
Ninth Ward
By Jewell Parker Rhodes
A Young People's History of the United States: Revised and Updated
By Howard Zinn, adapted by Rebecca Stefoff, additions by Ed Morales
I Am Alfonso Jones *
By Tony Medina, Stacey Robinson (Illustrator), and John Jennings (Illustrator), foreword by Bryan Stevenson
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People*
By Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Debbie Reese
Juliet Takes a Breath *
By Gabby Rivera
The Marrow Thieves*
By Cherie Dimaline
Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation
By Octavia E. Butler, Damian Duffy (Adapted by), John Jennings (Illustrator)
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks: Young Readers Edition *
By Jeanne Theoharis and Brandy Colbert
Troublemaker for Justice: The Story of Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the March on Washington*
By Jacqueline Houtman, Walter Naegle, Michael G. Long
Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 50th Anniversary Edition *
By Paulo Freire
