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According to PEN America, book bans and challenges have increased exponentially since 2021, and hundreds of books are being taken off shelves and out of classrooms. The majority of banned books are written by and about Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian-American, and LGBTQ+ authors and characters whose stories speak powerful and important truths about history, identity, resilience, and imagination.
In response, many people are hosting banned book readings, giveaways, and displays. To support these efforts, we created a list of some of our favorite banned books.
How do we know these are banned books? Most of the titles are in the comprehensive PEN America database. A few titles were reported to us directly by teachers.
There are some “top ten” banned books that get a lot of attention and, consequently, increased sales — while others risk going out of print due to the censorship and limited limelight. For this reason, our list does not include all of the more famous books we also recommend.
Titles that we recommend are featured below. The ones with reviews have an asterisk (*). At the end of this page is a list of titles that we do not recommend.
The Day You Begin*
By Jacqueline Woodson, Rafael López
Spanish version available here: El Día En Que Descubres Quién Eres
Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music*
By Margarita Engle, Rafael Lopez (Illustrator)
Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine
By Hannah Moushabeck and Reem Madooh (Illustrator)
From Prism: Palestinian authors grapple with a wave of censorship
Our Skin: A First Conversation
About Race *
By Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, and Isabel Roxas (Illustrator)
Spanish edition: Nuestra Piel
The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family*
By Ibtihaj Muhammad
Also see The Boldest White and The Kindest Red
Sharice's Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman *
By Sharice Davids
Learn more
The House on Mango Street
By Sandra Cisneros
Ninth Ward
By Jewell Parker Rhodes
A Young People's History of the United States: Revised and Updated
By Howard Zinn, adapted by Rebecca Stefoff, additions by Ed Morales
Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation
By Anne Frank, Ari Folman (Adapted by) and David Polonsky (Illustrator)
I Am Alfonso Jones *
By Tony Medina, Stacey Robinson (Illustrator), and John Jennings (Illustrator), foreword by Bryan Stevenson
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People*
By Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Debbie Reese
Learn more
Juliet Takes a Breath *
By Gabby Rivera
The Marrow Thieves*
By Cherie Dimaline
One Person, No Vote: How Not All Voters Are Treated Equally (YA edition)
By Carol Anderson with Tonya Bolden
Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation
By Octavia E. Butler, Damian Duffy (Adapted by), John Jennings (Illustrator)
