Across
- 1. This coming of age graphic novel is a middle school student and theater-lover who works in her school's drama production crew. It has been banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and for concerns that it goes against “family values/morals.”
- 5. This book about book bans was banned because “it referenced other banned books and taught "rebellion of school board authority.” The author, Alan Gratz, called the decision “incredible ironic.”
- 8. This series named for the naughty feline was challenged for using symbols "@?!* as stand-ins for swears and promoting gay lifestyles.
- 9. Anne Frank recounted growing up during as a Jewish girl during WWII before dying on a concentration camp. Not only did her father censor the book on publishing, it was challenged for being ‘too depressing’.
- 10. Normally a yearly publication, the US Army tried to get this book banned after a German spy was found with a copy in his pocket. They felt that the weather forecasts were aiding the enemy.
- 13. ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom started gathering book banning information in 1990 and this spooky kids title by Alvin Schwarts was the most banned book of that decade.
- 14. This classic Dr. Suess book was banned in 1989 by a school district in Laytonville, California, because officials and local parents felt it portrayed the logging industry in a negative, unfair light.
- 15. This classic book about a young girl who learns about racial injustice and violence when her father defends a falsely accused black man was challenged in 1980 with the challenger calling it a "filthy, trashy novel."
- 16. This sparkly vampire series was challenged at the Austin Memorial Library in Cleveland (TX), along with other young adult books that have a vampire theme. A local minister requested that the “occultic (sic) and demonic room be shut down, and these books be purged from the shelves, and that public funds would no longer be used to purchase such material, or at least require parents to check them our for their children.”
- 17. This series, named after the titular undies wearing superhero, has been banned and challenged because of offensive language (potty humor), unsuited for age group, and violence.
- 19. Ray Bradbury’s novel about a dystopian society that banned books and repressed independent thought. Ironically this book was banned because of vulgar language and government criticism. (hint: not all letters)
- 20. This graphic novel tells the tale of a Filipino American navigating bullying and body image insecurities, as he reconciles his conservative religious upbringing with his homosexuality. It is part of a trend of banning books that feature the LGTBQIA+ experience as “sexually explicit.”
Down
- 2. This Orwell novel, soon to be on the big screen about the power struggles among animals on a farm banned being anti communist and anti-government.
- 3. In 2014, a patron at the Toronto Public Library was concerned that this Dr. Suess book "encourages children to use violence against their fathers."
- 4. A Texas school district banned this title by Drew Daywalt because a crayon was pictured without its paper wrapper, which critics labeled as nudity.
- 6. This children’s book about two male penguins that raise a baby has been on the banned lists many times. Reasons include: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, sexism, unsuited to age group.
- 7. This semi autobiographical book by Jonathan Evison was banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was claimed to be sexually explicit. In our own library someone ripped up our copy and threw it in the trash. It was repurchased and is available to check out.
- 11. Removed from a locked reference collection at the Boulder Public Library in Colorado in 1988. The librarian who originally locked it away considered it sexist because the tree is overly compliant and giving and the boy is demanding and selfish.
- 12. Patricia McCormick’s bestselling National Book Award Finalist gives voice to a young girl robbed of her childhood et determined to find the strength to triumph. This book was challenged 36 times in 2025 making it the #1 most challenged book of the year.
- 18. Banned and challenged because of author’s (Ibram X. Kendi) public statements, and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people.