Diverse books for a diverse country

Some online comments took issue with me, claiming that book banners were only trying to keep extremely sexual, even pornographic books out of children’s hands. I invite readers to check out books that have been challenged over the years: New Kid, The Adventures of Captain Underpants, Drama, Charlotte’s Web, Harriet the Spy, Julian Is A Mermaid, Melissa, Bridge to Terabithia, And Tango Makes Three, Red - A Crayon Story, Born on the Water, Harry Potter, Roar of Thunder Hear My Cry, In the Night Kitchen, Where the Wild Things Are, Everywhere Babies, Sulwe, Something Happened in Our Town, The Family Book, Lailah’s Lunchbox, and Separate is Never Equal.

Visit PEN America’s website where you can view the thousands of titles people tried to ban from libraries, schools and even bookstores. Yes, you might find some titles that you might not want your children to read, but someone once said “Just because you’re a vegetarian doesn’t mean you get to slap a cheeseburger out of my child’s hands.” Parental freedom, to me, means that parents/guardians are free to establish guidelines with their children on how books are selected and how much supervision they need. Banning books one group disapproves of removes everyone else’s freedom to discover them. 

As a bookseller, I often give a lot of thought of on which shelf a book will land. Publishers do, generally, include age recommendations on books, but those are just guidelines. I’ll often be chatting with an adult about a book that they’re considering for someone under the age of 18 and I’ll mention specific themes or even particular scenes in the book, just in case there might be something that might not be appropriate for that particular reader. It makes me equally happy to have a parent say “Nope, that’s not going to work for my kiddo,” or “Oh, she’s gonna love that.” 

I fondly remember a San Mateo LGBTQIA+ Pride celebration where I had a huge display of children’s books and a woman walked over and started pointing at titles, noting which ones were in her child’s school. Another woman stood nearby scowling. She came closer and asked “Are you saying that all of those books are in your kid’s school?” I was worried that she disapproved of that until she said, “none of those books are in my child’s school and that upsets me.” The moms compared notes and the previously-scowling mom said “I’m going to try to move my kid to your school!” 

Schools and classrooms are as diverse as the people who run them so of course there will be differences. Last week my husband and I were honored to be invited to Arbor Bay School in San Carlos for an author’s tea. It is a magical place for K-8 students with learning differences. The upper elementary children had worked hard on various writing genres all year and the school compiled their best fiction into a book we offered to feature in our shop. As one boy read his story to us his father stood nearby. He took me aside and said, “a year ago my son couldn’t have read a single word like that.” And here he had written a whimsical tale of fiction he joyfully read to us out loud. While many schools demand that students learn to learn the way the school teaches, Arbor Bay seems to strive to figure out how each child learns and adapts their teaching to help each child thrive. Our goddaughter, who has Down syndrome, had attended that school years ago after having a very difficult time in other schools. Like the boy who had just read to us, at Arbor Bay she blossomed and found joy in learning. Believe it or not, many books about children with disabilities, including Down syndrome, have been challenged/banned. 

If America’s beautifully diverse children, like those at Arbor Bay, walk into a classroom, library or bookstore why shouldn’t they see themselves, people different from them, and other worlds in the books they can discover on the shelves? Mildred Pitts Walter, a former San Mateo resident, whom I mentioned in my last column, who pioneered including black characters in her children’s books, passed away last week at 102. May her memory inspire us to keep working for a country and world that celebrates diversity. 

Craig Wiesner is the co-owner of Reach And Teach, a book, toy and cultural gift shop on San Carlos Avenue in San Carlos. Follow Craig: craigwiesner.bsky.social.