Books & Media

It's Banned Books Week 2023. While there are many in-person events in libraries and bookstores across the country, these virtual events will allow everyone to hear important conversations at this critical time.

Twenty-four percent of school librarians have been harassed this past year over books or displays in their library. That’s according to a recent SLJ survey, which found the rate even higher among high school librarians, 30 percent of whom have experienced harassment.

These two titles center young Indigenous protagonists and integrate coming-of-age tropes with fantasy and folklore.

As the governor of California signs a law to protect books and materials at schools, public records requests reveal librarians in one Florida county were told to remove all books with LGBTQ characters, a survey from EveryLibrary and BookRiot shows how parents and guardians really feel about public libraries, and more in the latest Censorship News.

The 2023–24 Mathical Collection Development Awards, presented by Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute in partnership with School Library Journal, will award $700 to up to 32 Title I K–12 U.S. school libraries to purchase Mathical Book Prize–winning titles for their schools.

The Jewish holiday of Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Booths, celebrates the autumn harvest and the bounty that nature provides. Share these picture books with young children for the festival and any time throughout the year.

Banned Books Week 2023 Youth Honorary Chair Da'Taeveyon Daniels writes about his journey to self-acceptance and advocacy, and the importance of the fight against censorship.

Dogs and cats save the day in these appealing stories for young children about rescue squads and community helpers.

Awards season is heating up, along with reader interest in current speculation. Betsy Bird puts it out there in her latest Prediction Edition. Also trending on SLJ, booklists that honor the Latinx experience to savor with young readers in this commemorative month and beyond.