When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball by Mark Weakland

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Some responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. We asked each young reviewer to respond to three questions: What did you like about the book? Why do you want other people to read this book? How did this book teach you to love God and love your neighbor? Reading these responses reminded me that nothing can stand in the way of a kid’s curiosity. Sojourners reached out to some of these parents to ask if their kids, ages 5 to 17, would be interested in offering a brief review of a banned book from this list. Other parents will encourage their kids to read these books, talk with their peers and adults about the contents within, and imagine how these books might impact their own religious convictions as well as their neighborly responsibilities. Ban ’em or burn ’em, these books will not disappear and kids will continue to seek out resources on these topics - to some parents’ chagrin. Many of these censorship efforts have been led by conservative Christians and conservative politicians who are concerned these books will dissuade their kids from embracing what they call “ Judeo-Christian values.” But as Ryan Duncan explained, Christians are deluding themselves if they believe banning stories about gender, race, or sex will halt their kids’ curiosity. We are currently in the midst of what the American Library Association condemned in November as “a dramatic uptick” in efforts to challenge or remove certain books from libraries and schools.

When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball by Mark Weakland