Gratz, Alan.
BAN THIS BOOK
New York : Starscape, 2017
IL 3-6, RL 3.9
ISBN 978-0765385567

(2 booktalks)

Booktalk #1

Eleven-year-old Amy Anne Ollinger finds her voice and her courage fighting back against censorship after her favorite book is banned from her school library. When a parent decides that some of the books in the Shelbourne Elementary School Library are not suitable for the students, Amy Anne finds herself leading the charge to protect her right to read and preserve intellectual freedom for herself and her classmates. She enlists the help of her friends and together they carry out a series of actions to resist the banning of books. They create their own Banned Book Library Locker, create new covers for banned books, and raise awareness of the absurdity of banning books by submitting hundreds of “request for reconsideration” slips to the school board. Challenging the idea that one person can determine what everyone else can read, Amy quickly becomes the leader in a battle against censorship and demonstrates the power of young people to effect change.   (Vermont DCF Award nominee, 2018-2019)

Booktalk #2

When Amy Anne discovers her favorite book is missing from her elementary school library because a parent thought it was inappropriate, she fights back by starting an illegal locker library, which turns into a battle over book banning and  censorship in her school. (Connecticut Nutmeg Award https://www.nutmegaward.org/)