Books Should Not Be Banned (Free Persuasive Essay Example)

You may think that you are able to read whatever you want, but little do you know, books from our library are being challenged at this very moment. Books all over the world are being challenged and banned for completely unreasonable topics, such as LGBTQ+ and racism’s effect on kids. How would you feel if your favorite book got banned from your own library? I believe that books should not be banned because they build empathy toward diverse communities, it is important for kids to learn about diversity, and it is easy for kids to learn about uncomfortable topics from a book rather than a person. 

"Books that represent people and situations that are drastically different from anything [children have] ever known can trigger empathy." —Tara Keeley, elementary school teacher

Books help kids develop empathy for others by opening them up to other cultures, places, and communities. “Children, by nature, start out very self-focused, so it can be hard for them to imagine lives and experiences outside of their own,” says Tara Keeley, a New York City-based elementary school teacher with the city’s Department of Education. “Books that represent people and situations that are drastically different from anything they’ve ever known can trigger empathy [because] there are universal human experiences, like joy, grief, disappointment, shame.”

A 2014 study of kids 4-18 in the United Kingdom states that children felt more empathetic to immigrants, refugees, and the LGBTQ+ community after reading Harry Potter books.

Ash Beckham, an LGBTQ+ advocate, activist and diversity speaker states that books “foster development physically, socially, and emotionally.” 

A study done by the National Institute for Mental Health states that adolescents feel strong emotions greater than young children or adults. It has to do with the way our brain changes as we grow older. 

A Houston elementary school has banned the children's book “Buster’s Sugartime” because the school board was concerned about the fact that Buster has two moms. A parent did not want her kids reading books with gay characters.

A bill was introduced to a school in Oklahoma that prohibited books about sexual orientation and gender identity in school libraries. Even more recently, a county school board in Tennessee voted to cut out the award winning holocaust novel, Maus, from the eighth grade curriculum for “disturbing imagery” and “objectable language”. (Again, this book is about the holocaust!)

Some of the most challenged books of 2020 were : “George” by Alex Gino, banned for LQBTQ+ content, “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, banned for a political viewpoint that might be offensive towards men because it includes rape and profanity, “All American Boys” by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Keily, challenged because it included drug usage, alcoholism, anti-police views, and it’s “too much of a sensitive topic right now”, “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas, challenged for profanity and was thought to portray an anti-police viewpoint, as well as many others challenged for racial slurs, LGBTQ+ content, anti-police messages, or for conflicting with religious viewpoints.

Take drug use for example. It is so important to learn about drug use, and it is really easy to learn about it in a book. When you read a book, it is a safe space, whereas in a classroom, you might get uncomfortable because all of your peers are there. If you don’t learn about drugs, you could get into bad situations and you won’t know what to do about it. Learning about them helps you make better decisions and be healthier in the long run.

Kids should feel like they are able to choose what they read, because nobody likes the feeling of being controlled by somebody else.

This goes for other topics, where it is easier to learn from a book than from a person.

Sarah Welch, the author of “Austin Brown Dogs”, says “I can’t help but wonder, when physical safe spaces are hard to come by, whether our books offer us the sanctuary we need to begin moving forward.” 

A study done by the National Institute for Mental Health states that adolescents feel strong emotions greater than young children or adults. It has to do with the way our brain changes as we grow older. 

I believe that books should not be banned because they build empathy toward diverse communities, it is important for kids to learn about diversity, and it is easy for kids to learn about uncomfortable topics from a book rather than a person. Save our books. Help our libraries. We deserve non-censored reading! So go sign a petition to keep our books in our libraries.