The words were dangerous. For as long as people have been expressing their opinions in writing, there have been those in positions of power who have succeeded in censoring those thoughtsor making sure they were never printed in the first place. In this timely and provocative parable, a book is first subjected to redaction, then removal from a library. From award-winning author Jonah Winter, this provocative tale is subject to increasing amounts of blacked out text from censors, leaving behind a powerful message of the effects of censorship. Award-winning artist Gary Kelleys moody and powerful art sets a weighty tone, portraying the emotions of the readers, the censors, the indignant librarian, and the questioning students. What becomes of a banned book? Is it good for only landfill fodder in the end? Banned Book will spark discussions with students in middle school and above as they confront a situation that is altogether too common in our own time.

2024 Horace Mann Upstander Award Winner

Read an author interview the Worlds of Words Blog

Read an author Q&A with Deborah Kalb

Listen to a radio interview with Project Censored

Featured on NPR News Station WESA

Featured on Publishers Weekly Books for Young Readers Addressing Book Banning

Children’s Books: Judgement Calls – WSJ

Author Jonah Winter Responds to WSJ review of his book

Cancel Culture Dominates Children’s Literature – WSJ

Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 912 List (2024)

Read an interview in Art Is Unity

Meet-the-Author Recording

Ages 8 – 12

Fiction, 32 pages, 2023

ISBN 9781568463940