As a book publisher, I look with the leery eyes when someone talks about banning books. Of course, there are books that are both inappropriate and disgusting. But often, these decisions about the importance of the book often are in the eye of the beholder. Let me give me just one example. One of the great American classics is “To kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. I’ve read it several times, told the story plot a story to my grandkids, and watched the motion picture starring Gregory Peck on a number of occasions. Did you know that this important book has been banned in school districts and libraries all over America?  This book and other classics have been banned in school districts and local libraries in Arizona, California, Mississippi, Idaho, Maryland, Wisconsin, Tennessee, just to name a few.

Books have been banned for racist depictions or language, such as “Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain and “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck because of its racial slurs. And in 2021, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced it would no longer reprint six Dr. Seuss books, including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” and “If I Ran the Zoo.”

To read a lengthy article on book banning across the U.S. go to https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/30/books/book-ban-us-schools.html.