During Banned Books Week, please join us to defend books from censorship and to stand up for the library staff, educators, writers, publishers, and booksellers who make them available.
Learn about some of our favorite banned titles below and join us October 11 for Let Freedom Read Day.
Take a look at our booklists on Latinx heritage with a focus on Central America in support of Teach Central America Week October 6–10. |
Our banned books list features books that address social issues and represent the diversity of the United States. Given the crises in the world today with voting rights, public health, the climate, and more — literature should inform and inspire young people to shape a more just future. |
Let Freedom Read Day
October 11, 2025 |
On October 11, during Banned Books Week, defend books from censorship and support the library staff, educators, writers, publishers, and booksellers who make them available on Let Freedom Read Day.
Wear Teach Banned Books buttons — and share them with your friends — to prompt conversations about the need to actively oppose book bans, teach truthfully, and defend LGBTQ+ rights. |
“Book censorship in schools has reached a new apex, now becoming a routine and expected part of school operations. . . . These attacks on students’ rights and educational institutions are the symptoms of a much larger disease: the dismantling of public education and a backsliding democracy.” — in The Normalization of Book Banning: Banned in the USA, 2024–2025 (PEN America) by Tasslyn Magnusson, et al.
Librarian Kelly Jensen notes that we can’t solve the book banning crisis with banned book distribution. “This isn’t about the books. It’s about the fundamental rights to democratic spaces that represent a whole community. Right now, judges are chipping away at *our* rights.” — in Another Judge Chips Away at Library Patron First Amendment Rights. |
Teach Central America Week
October 6–10, 2025 |
We offer a vetted collection of books for pre-K–12 on Central America.
Visit Teaching for Change’s website TeachingCentralAmerica.org for more resources to teach about Central America, including lessons, films, websites, biographies of noted historical figures, and readings for free use by classroom teachers. |
Silenced Voices Author Talk |
On September 24th, 2025, we filled every seat at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C., for an evening with author and artist Pablo Leon as he discussed his new YA graphic novel, Silenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan Genocide. Also known for his illustrations of Marvel’s Miles Morales: Shock Waves, Leon combines historical research of the Guatemalan Civil War with his personal experiences as a Guatemalan immigrant to tell a story of family, sacrifice, survival, loss, and hope. Leon was interviewed by award-winning children’s book author and middle school teacher Anna Lapera in a conversation that explored the power of storytelling to preserve historical memory and connect generations. |
Our thanks to everyone who purchases books via our Bookshop store to help sustain SocialJusticeBooks.org. Purchases are private, so we don’t see your names. But your commitment makes a difference. Feel free to let us know if you order from our Bookshop store so we can thank you personally. |
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