A version of Where's Waldo? was restricted in a Michigan library because a beach scene featured a woman with the side of her breast showing.
The first recorded book ban in the U.S. dates all the way back to 1637. Thomas Morton’s book New English Canaan was banned by Puritan authorities because it harshly critiqued their culture.
In 2025, 92% of all book challenges were initiated by pressure groups, government officials and decision makers, up from 72% in 2024.
Less than 3% of challenges originated from individual parents.
Educators, parents, and students are fighting back through school board elections, advocacy, and successful legal challenges in multiple states which have successfully overturned certain unconstitutional book bans.
Of the unique titles challenged in 2025, 1,671 (39%) represent the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color.
The Lorax was banned by a California school district in 1989 because they feared it would turn children against the logging industry.
There is a recent surge in targeting educational texts, biographies, history books, and reference texts that document scientific or historic facts.
The U.S. Supreme Court hasn't clearly ruled on school library book bans since 1982, leaving the legal landscape hazy and mostly up to state laws and local school board discretion.
ALA documented 713 attempts to censor library materials and services, 487 of which targeted books.
OIF documented 5,668 books banned from libraries (66% of the total challenged) in 2025. An additional 920 books were censored through access restrictions such as relocation or requiring parental permission.
This is both the highest number of titles censored in one year and the highest rate of challenges resulting in censorship from 1990–2025.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – Challenged for themes of drug use, LGBTQ+ identities, and sexuality. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison – Restricted in various districts for sexual content. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez – Banned for depictions of racial discrimination and mature situations. Crank by Ellen Hopkins – Challenged for its portrayal of addiction and mature themes. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas – Targeted for mature sexual content in young adult collections.
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe – Challenged for LGBTQ+ content and depictions of sexuality. All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson – Restricted for LGBTQ+ themes and sexual explicitness. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison – Challenged for depictions of trauma and racial injustice. Flamamer by Mike Curato – Targeted for LGBTQ+ themes and mature content. Looking for Alaska by John Green – Frequently banned for sexual content and profanity.
J.K. Rowling's series was the most challenged book of the 2000s. In Arkansas, a school district placed restrictions on it, forcing students to get parental permission, though the federal courts ultimately overturned the restriction.
A Wisconsin town once banned a book featuring a spider licking her lips, arguing the scene could be taken in a sexual way. (Spiders don't even have tongues!)
ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, the second highest ever documented by ALA.
The highest ever documented was 4,240 in 2023.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary has been challenged and threatened with removal in various school districts over the years due to the inclusion of explicit definitions for slang and sexual words.
Classic children's stories like Harold and the Purple Crayon were challenged for allegedly encouraging vandalism, and Harriet the Spy was banned in certain schools for teaching children to spy and talk-back.
Book Banning Facts
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Transcript
A version of Where's Waldo? was restricted in a Michigan library because a beach scene featured a woman with the side of her breast showing.
The first recorded book ban in the U.S. dates all the way back to 1637. Thomas Morton’s book New English Canaan was banned by Puritan authorities because it harshly critiqued their culture.
In 2025, 92% of all book challenges were initiated by pressure groups, government officials and decision makers, up from 72% in 2024.
Less than 3% of challenges originated from individual parents.
Educators, parents, and students are fighting back through school board elections, advocacy, and successful legal challenges in multiple states which have successfully overturned certain unconstitutional book bans.
Of the unique titles challenged in 2025, 1,671 (39%) represent the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color.
The Lorax was banned by a California school district in 1989 because they feared it would turn children against the logging industry.
There is a recent surge in targeting educational texts, biographies, history books, and reference texts that document scientific or historic facts.
The U.S. Supreme Court hasn't clearly ruled on school library book bans since 1982, leaving the legal landscape hazy and mostly up to state laws and local school board discretion.
ALA documented 713 attempts to censor library materials and services, 487 of which targeted books.
OIF documented 5,668 books banned from libraries (66% of the total challenged) in 2025. An additional 920 books were censored through access restrictions such as relocation or requiring parental permission.
This is both the highest number of titles censored in one year and the highest rate of challenges resulting in censorship from 1990–2025.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – Challenged for themes of drug use, LGBTQ+ identities, and sexuality. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison – Restricted in various districts for sexual content. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez – Banned for depictions of racial discrimination and mature situations. Crank by Ellen Hopkins – Challenged for its portrayal of addiction and mature themes. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas – Targeted for mature sexual content in young adult collections.
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe – Challenged for LGBTQ+ content and depictions of sexuality. All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson – Restricted for LGBTQ+ themes and sexual explicitness. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison – Challenged for depictions of trauma and racial injustice. Flamamer by Mike Curato – Targeted for LGBTQ+ themes and mature content. Looking for Alaska by John Green – Frequently banned for sexual content and profanity.
J.K. Rowling's series was the most challenged book of the 2000s. In Arkansas, a school district placed restrictions on it, forcing students to get parental permission, though the federal courts ultimately overturned the restriction.
A Wisconsin town once banned a book featuring a spider licking her lips, arguing the scene could be taken in a sexual way. (Spiders don't even have tongues!)
ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, the second highest ever documented by ALA.
The highest ever documented was 4,240 in 2023.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary has been challenged and threatened with removal in various school districts over the years due to the inclusion of explicit definitions for slang and sexual words.
Classic children's stories like Harold and the Purple Crayon were challenged for allegedly encouraging vandalism, and Harriet the Spy was banned in certain schools for teaching children to spy and talk-back.