Freedom to Read: The Banned Book Block Project

Book banning has been on the rise for years. This is a dangerous practice that reduces people’s access to powerful books, books which showcase a diversity of experiences,and inhibits readers’ ability to develop empathy and/or learn more about their own circumstances. How exactly is book banning defined? It is the government (federal, state, local etc.), or other authority figure prohibiting a book from being made available to the subject population. This can take several forms: 

-The removal of books from a library.  

-Putting in place laws/policies that prohibit the purchase of certain books for a school or library. 

-Placing borrowing restrictions on books making it prohibitive for patrons to take out the book. 

It also creates an environment of self-censorship, where librarians will avoid purchasing books that they know may prove to be controversial. Some of the reasons that books have faced bans in recent years include: 

-Representation of LGBTQA+ characters 

-Representation of people of color 

-Representation of non-Christian religions and/or negative representation of Christianity  

-Languague (can include anything from profanity to incorrect language structure) 

-Sexually explicit (this is usually a catch all term that covers anything involving the human body) 

-Questioning Authority 

While banning books isn’t new, unfortunately some of the tools that are now used to create the list of banned books are. With the introduction of AI to search titles and content for keywords, books are being banned simply for having words such as “sex”  or “race” books with this vocabulary are banned regardless of context.  You can learn more about the ongoing battle to fight book bans, and the top banned books by visiting the American Library Association (ALA) at https://www.ala.org/bbooks/book-ban-data  or PEN America at https://pen.org/book-bans/. 

My Banned Book Blocks Project is meant to bring attention to the book banning explosion and the negative impact that results. So far I have created blocks for the following books: 

-Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall [Children’s Picturebook] 

-And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell [Children’s Picturebook] 

-The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang [Young Adult Graphic Novel] 

-Strega Nonna by Tomie dePaola  [Children’s Picturebook] 

-Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? By Bill Martin Jr. [Children’s Picturebook] 

-Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak [Children’s Picturebook] 

-Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo  [Young Adult Novel] 

-They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger and Steven R. Scott [Graphic Novel] 

-They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera [Young Adult Novel] 

-Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury [Novel] 

-The Complete Book of Cats by Rosie Pilbeam and Alan Edwards [Non-Fiction, Reference] 

-Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey [Children’s Graphic Novel Series] 

-1984 by George Orwell [Novel] 

I am hoping by the end of the year to build all of these (and the upcoming blocks) into a quilt which can be donated to efforts to support freedom to read. I would love for all of you to be involved, and have created two different options. First, if you have a banned book that you would like to see made into a block please send me the title and author by email to siobhan@cdm365studios.com Second, you can make a banned book block of your own. I am including instructions for the “EYE-1984” block (big brother is watching), that you can use to promote freedom to read however you see best. If you do I would love to see your blocks and how you used them, you can share them with me via email at siobhan@cdm365studios.com or tag me on Instagram @createdesignmake365  I look forward to your suggestions and creations.

Happy reading and sewing, Siobhan.