PEN America released a list of the most banned picture books in American schools, with three titles featuring LGBTQ+ themes tied for the No. 1 spot.
The report from the literary nonprofit found that 317 picture books had been banned in the 2021-2022 school year.
The books that tied for No. 1 were Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag, written by Rob Sanders and illustrated by Steven Salerno; I Am Jazz, written by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings and illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas; and And Tango Makes Three, written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and illustrated by Henry Cole.
Patricia Polacco’s In Our Mothers’ House, which features a lesbian couple, took the No. 4 spot. Tying at No. 5 were The Baby Tree by Sophie Blackall; Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh; and Everywhere Babies, written by Susan Meyers and illustrated by Marla Frazee.
Twelve books tied for No. 8, among them books with characters of color, including The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi; We March by Shane W. Evans; and Sulwe, written by Lupita Nyong’o and illustrated by Vashti Harrison.
The picture books are among 1,648 titles banned in schools across the country in the 2021-2022 school year, PEN America says.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
