Miami, June 17, 2024 – When Amy Anne Ollinger discovers that her favorite book has been banned from the school library, she decides not to give up by starting a secret library for the censored books in her locker. So she begins the children’s book of Alan Gratz,”Ban This Book” (in Italian “Forbidden to read!”, published by Mondadori in 2019), now officially bandit from the school board of Indian River County in Florida.
The character of Amy is a nine-year-old girl, who without realizing it finds herself in a battle bigger than herself – the one against censorship of books in the United States. His favorite book, “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” by EL Konigsburg, was banned from the school library after a student’s mother complained that it was inappropriate reading for children . Now, the same plot of the novel has been transposed into reality: Jennifer Pippin, mother of a student in the Indian River school district, took issue with Gratz’s book because it “teaches rebellion against the authority of the school board,” reports “The Guardian.” Thus, although the district’s book review board had reviewed the work and decided to keep it in schools, Pippin managed to get it banned through a vote of the board members.
Jennifer Pippin is the president of the local chapter of “Moms for Liberty,” a far-right organization that has been behind many of the book censorships in the United States in recent years. According to a 2023 PEN America report, the Guardian writes, 81% of school districts that banned books between July 2022 and June 2023 were located in or adjacent to a county with a local chapter of groups like Moms for Liberty .
In a statement to the Tallahassee Democrat, Gratz addressed the irony of his book being censored: “They banned the book because it talks about books that they themselves banned and because it talks about censorship of books,” he said. “It seems like they know exactly what they’re doing, and they don’t want a book on the shelves that challenges them.” According to the report ofAmerican Library Association published earlier this year, the number of titles targeted by censorship in 2023 increased by 65% compared to the previous year, with over 4000 titles contested. It is the highest number in recent years.
