Gallery • 6 Photos

The Topeka Capital Journal reports Kansas districts has banned 30 books in recent months. The library in our school has a collection of banned books on display ready to be checked out.

The display includes a table with books on fire. Some are in a trash bin with the covers completely burned. The table also features a description of what has been going on and why they are against it.

Some of the books on display were The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. all stories with seemingly controversial subjects within them.

Media specialists Ms. Penny and Ms. Diamond are encouraging students to read these books. They find it so important for the students to read the books to expand their knowledge and step into the characters shoes to really understand their perspective.

Ms. Penny said, “These books have a lot of facts, history, and reality in them. Just because someone else doesn’t like that some of the books talk about LGBTQ or Black history doesn’t mean our kids don’t need to learn about it. We can’t keep you guys from reading about it or being curious.” Ms. Penny says she created a majority of the display with Ms. Diamonds help.

A lot of the books are just an insight to what is really in the world. The books open people’s eyes to the reality of issues or conflicts in the world. When someone looks at this list, they will mostly see things about LQBTQ+, sexually explicit, violence, and or derogatory terms.