Division over Critical Race Theory's Meaning Has Spurred A Rise in Book Bans

Over the past year, book bans have nearly tripled. School boards and parents unwilling to teach or even understand the importance of Critical Race Theory have expanded their censorship to include books that they consider inappropriate for their children.

In Tennessee, a school board voted to ban ‘Maus,’ Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about the Holocaust, due to 'profanity' and 'nudity'. Shawntee Burns-Simpson, Associate Director of School Support and Outreach at the New York Public Library joins us to discuss the harm in banning books and how it deprives children by depriving their access to all kinds of books from diverse authors. 

We also spoke with award-winning author and National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature Jason Reynolds about how to navigate books with complicated or difficult subject matters for young people.