Banned Books Week

Book: Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Reason for Banning: This book has been challenged multiple times since its publication in 2013 due to its "cover image of two boys kissing," "sexually explicit LGBT content," and "condoning public displays of affection.”

Artist: Liessa Bowen

Artist's Statement: Two boys who try to set a Guinness World record for longest kiss, challenge not only themselves, but family, friends, and questions of identity. I wanted to depict the boys as two beautiful individuals trying to be true to themselves.

Book: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Reason for Banning:  Since publication, it has consistently appeared on the American Library Association's list of the most challenged books. Reasons cited are "sexually explicit material," "graphic descriptions and language," and "a socialist-communist agenda."

Artist: Susan Brubaker Knapp

Artist's Statement: Pecola, the 11-year-old Black girl at the center of Toni Morrison’s novel “The Bluest Eye,” descends into madness, believing that she would be valued and loved if she had pink skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes.

Book: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Reason for Banning:  Although this classic novel is taught in high schools across the country, it has been challenged or banned many times over the years. Most notably, it was challenged in 1987 at Baptist College of Charleston, SC over the book's sexual references and profane language.

Artist: Amelia Brinson

Artist's Statement: I represented the characters being arrested for their “crimes,” highlighting the reasons this book has been banned.

Book: Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Reason for Banning: In 1996, a Texas school district banned the book from its Advanced English class lists because it "conflicted with its community values."

Artist: Robert Votta

Artists's Statement: I wanted to portray the arrogance of Man presuming domination of Nature. Original British editions of the book had passages deleted for “sacrilegious” sentiments or promotion of “secular Humanism.”

Book: Animal Farm by George Orwell

Reason for Banning: Orwell's controversal allegorical novella has been accused of being Communist propaganda and a call to overthrow organized states. In has been banned in multiple countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Soviet Union, and China.

Artist: Charlotte Hord Smith

Artist's Statement: This piece, made from fabric sewn to handmade paper, depicts Napoleon at the end of the book when he has completed his transition from farm pig to authoritarian leader.

Book: Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

Reason for Banning: Labeled “the most banned book in the country” by the New York Times, Kobabe's 2019 graphic memoir faced local challenges at the Wake County Public Library for profanity and “pornographic” images

Artist: Libby Fosso

Artists's Statement: Labels. Our society is intent on boxing people into rigid categories—by ethnicity, gender, socioeconomics, politics, religion, even fashion. When I found these vintage clothing tags, saved by my mother, I wanted to comment on the safety, confusion, and limitations of labels.

Book: Kindred  by Octavia Butler

Reason for Banning: Several state and federal prisons, including North Carolina state prisons, have banned Kindred. According to its banned publications list, the NC Department of Public Safety has censored many other books about racial inequality and Black history.

Artist: Linda Bowerman

Artists's Statement: I chose to illustrate the family Bible page with info linking the two times. Dana’s maiden name has been crossed out by their mother as if she no longer existed. Hagar has no listed father, and the tree is rooted less.

Book: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi Reason for Banning: This autobiographical graphic novel about coming of age in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution was pulled from Chicago schools for "graphic language and images that are not appropriate for general use in the seventh grade curriculum." At present, it can only be taught in Chicago high schools by teachers with special training. Artist: Heather Jolley Smith Artists's Statement: I made this collage in felt to show Marjane as she grows up in 1980s war-ridden Iran. The center, in black and white, depicts the graphic novel. The frame is inspired by Persian textiles to highlight her rich cultural heritage.

Book: The Awakening by Kate Chopin Reason for Banning: Chopin's story of self-discovery and suicide challenged the gender roles of Victorian society, leading to criticism that the story was "morbid," "feeble," and "vulgar.” Evanston, IL banned it in 1902. Despite disdain for the topic, Chopin’s writing prowess earned praise. Artist: Kristin Bennett Artists's Statement: My Edna is modeled after the Gibson girls, illustrated personifications of a feminine ideal. One closed eye symbolizes her incomplete awakening; the birdcage represents lack of freedom and isolation; the halo, Edna’s martyrdom and an homage to the backdrop of Catholicism in French Creole New Orleans.

Book: The Giver by Lois Lowry Reason for Banning: From 1990 -1999, more than 11,000 separate attempts were made to remove The Giver from schools and libraries, most often claiming it’s not suitable for grades 5-8. Ironically, in The Giver, strict rules forbid citizens from reading books other than the dictionary and The Book of Rules. Artist: Stella Schick Artists's Statement: In the scene depicted, Jonas carries Gabriel as he runs away from the community. Although there is no crowd present in the book, I chose to add the crowd so I can show the juxtaposition of the black and white lives of the citizens, and the colors Jonas sees.

Book: The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter Reason for Banning: Alia Muhammad Baker saved part of the Basra library’s collection before the building was burned as British forces entered the city during the 2003 Iraq War. Coalitions of parents in FL and NY claimed the book promotes Islam and is too violent for kids. Artist: Anna-Marie Pellett Artists's Statement: A courageous librarian along with her friends and neighbors saved 30,000 books. In recognition, I illustrated seven important scenes: Basra itself, the library, the librarian, the coming war, books moving to a safe place, invasion, and fire destroying the library.

Book: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Reason for Banning:  In 2017, after school officials in Katy, TX pulled the book from shelves for “pervasive vulgarity and racially insensitive language,” a teen in the district collected 4,000 signatures on a petition to bring it back. Students are now required to get parental permission to check it out. Artist: Libby Fosso Artists's Statement: This is a graphic commentary on incarceration, border crossings, racism, the thin blue line of civil unrest, and gun violence. I’m struck by how easily we find offense in fiction, but are not outraged by government complicity in unjust, hateful, and inhumane conditions in our own country.

Book: Charlotte's Web  E.B. White Reason for Banning: This classic kids’ book won a Newbery Honor and has sold more than 45 million copies since its publication, yet in 2006 the book was challenged by parents in Kansas because “showing [animals] with human abilities is sacriligeous and disrespectful to God.” Artist: Sylvia Leaver Artists's Statement: Charlotte’s Web is about love, compassion, friendship, and the desire of all creatures to live out their natural lives. I chose to paint Wilbur, the “Pig Who Must Be Saved,” using the sweet, mirthful, insistent face of a little pig who is living in safety at a local farm sanctuary.