JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County Public Schools calls it a “review” for age appropriateness, but a free speech and human rights group is calling it a “book ban.”
There are renewed calls for school leaders to make a list of 176 books available to students, which are under review to check their content. The discussion was rekindled during Tuesday night’s Duval County School Board meeting.
The books were ordered by the District in July 2021, but after arriving in January of this year, the District pressed pause — halting them from hitting library shelves. They include 176 books from the “Essential Voices” collection, a curated list of books focused on diversity and inclusion.
Now, nearly a year later, free speech groups like “Pen America” and “We Need Diverse Books” are calling for the literature to be made available to students. In a letter to the School Board, the coalition of more than 70 authors wrote:
“Together, we urge you to return all 176 book titles purchased as part of the Essential Voices Collection to classroom libraries and request that you commit publicly to a timeline and process for reviewing the Collection.”
Among the titles — a book about the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song with strong, historic Jacksonville roots.
Another title: “Celebrating Different Beliefs,” which explores cultural and spiritual diversity in the world.
“Nya’s Long Walk” is also on the list, based on the true story of a south Sudanese girl’s struggle to find clean drinking water. It’s the picture book companion to “A Long Walk to Water,” a New York Times bestseller and Newberry Medal winner.
That book’s author, Linda Sue Park, appeared at the Duval County School Board meeting to call for the books to be made available.
“I hope your School Board here in Duval County will understand that all the Essential Voices books have been created by people who care deeply about kids and vetted by experts who care deeply about kids and should be on the shelves and not in storage,” Park said.
The District told News4JAX in September that the decision to pull those books from shelves for review was not prompted by any parent complaints. The decision was made in the lead up to new state laws that govern how race, as well as sexual orientation and gender identity, are discussed in schools.
Pen America cited the District’s reasons for pulling the titles, saying in an email: “Academic services identified titles that were either substituted or included content too mature for the grade level for which they were included in that collection.”
The District maintains that the books are not “banned” but rather on-hold for review. The authors say that if children can’t access the books at school, it amounts to the same thing.
In September, the District said that because of staffing shortages the review of those books has been taking far longer than expected.
At the Mountain’s Base, by Traci Sorell and Weshoyot Alvitre
Before She Was Harriet, by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome
Chik Chak Shabbat, by Mara Rockliff and Kyrsten Brooker
Cow on the Town: Practicing the Ow Sound, by Isabella Garcia
Dreamers, by Yuyi Morales
Dumpling Soup, by Jama Kim Rattigan, and Lillian Hsu-Flanders
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story, by Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal
The Gift of Ramadan, by Rabiah York Lumbard and Laura K. Horton
Grandfather Tang’s Story, by Ann Tompert and Robert Andrew Parker
Hush! A Thai Lullaby, by Minfong Ho and Holly Meade
Islandborn, by Junot Díaz and Leo Espinosa
Little Night/Nochecita, by Yuyi Morales
Looking for Bongo, by Eric Velásquez
Lost and Found Cat : The True Story of Kunkush’s Incredible Journey by Doug Kuntz, Amy Shrodes and Sue Cornelison
Love to Mama: A Tribute To Mothers, by Pat Mora, Paula S. Barragán M.
Lubna and Pebble, by Wendy Meddour, Wendy and Daniel Egneus
My Two Dads and Me, by Michael Joosten and Izak Zenou
My Two Moms and Me, by Michael Joosten and Izak Zenou
Neither, by Airlie Anderson
Never Say a Mean Word Again: A Tale from Medieval Spain, by Jacqueline Jules and Durga Yael Bernhard
Nya’s Long Walk: A Step at a Time, by Linda Sue Park and Brian Pinkney
On Mother’s Lap, by Ann Herbert Scott and Glo Coalson
One Green Apple, by Eve Bunting and Ted Lewin
The Rough-Face Girl, by Rafe Martin and David Shannon
Running the Road to ABC, by Denize Lauture
Sulwe, by Lupita Nyong’o and Vashti Harrison
Uncle Jed’s Barber Shop, by Margaree King Mitchell and James E. Ransome
Yoko (Yoko Series), Rosemary Wells
Zen Shorts (Zen Series), by Jon J. Muth
10,000 Dresses, by Rex Ray and Marcus Ewert
14 Cows for America, by Carmen Agra Deedy, Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah and Thomas Gonzalez
Abuela, by Arthur Dorros and Elisa Kleven
All Around Us, by Xelena Gonzalez and riana M. Garcia
Alma and How She Got Her Name, by Juana Martinez-Neal
Amina’s Voice (Amina’s Voice Series), by Hena Kahn
And Still the Turtle Watched, by Sheila MacGill-Callahan and Barry Moser
Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio, by Tony Johnston and Raul Colon
Ashes to Asheville, by Sarah Dooley
Barbed Wire Baseball: How One Man Brought Hope to the Japanese Internment Camps of WWII, by Marissa Moss and Yuko Marissa Shimizu
The Berenstain Bears and the Big Question (The Berenstain Bears Series) by Jan and Stan Berenstain
The Best Man, by Richard Peck
Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border, by Mitali Perkins and Sara Palacios
Big Red Lollipop, by Rukhsana Khan and Sophie Blackall
Black Frontiers: A History of African American Heroes in the Old West, by Lillian Schlissel
The Boy of the Three-Year Nap, by Dianne Snyder and Allen Say
The Bracelet, by Yoshiko Uchida and Joanna Yardley
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky, by Chief Seattle and Susan Jeffers
Carter Reads the Newspaper, by Deborah Hopkinson and Don Tate
A Case of Sense, by Songju Ma Daemicke and Shennen Bersani
Celebrating Different Beliefs, by Steffi Cavell-Clarke
Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa, by Veronica Chambers and Julie Maren
Climbing Lincoln’s Steps: The African American Journey, by Suzanne Slade and Colin Bootman
The Color of My Words, by Lynn Joseph
Coolies, by Yin and Chris K. Soentpiet
Crazy Horse’s Vision, by Joseph Bruchac and S.D.Nelson
Dad, Jackie, and Me, by Myron Uhlberg and Colin Bootman
Daddy, Papa, and Me, Lesléa Newman and Carol Thompson
Dash (Dogs of World War II Series), by Kirby Larson
The Day of Ahmed’s Secret, by Florence Parry Heide, Judith Heide Gilliland, and Ted Lewin
Day of the Dead, by Tony Johnston and Jeanette Winter
A Day’s Work, by Eve Bunting and Ronald Himler
Dear Juno, by Soyung Pak and Susan Kathleen Hartung
Dim Sum for Everyone! by Grace Lin
A Dog Named Haku: A Holiday Story from Nepal, by Margarita Engle, Amish Karanjit, Nicole Karanjit, and Ruth Jeyaveeran
The Double Life of Pocahontas, by Jean Fritz
A Dream Come True: Coming to America from Vietnam-1975, by M. J. Cosson
The Drinking Gourd: A Story of the Underground Railroad, by F.N. Monjo and Fred Brenner
Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music, by Margarita Engle and Rafael López
Eagle Feather, by Clyde Robert Bulla and Tom Two Arrows
Eagle Song, by Joseph Bruchac and Dan Andreasen
Early Sunday Morning, by Denene Millner and Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Encounter, by Brittany Luby and Michaela Goade
Extra Credit, by Andrew Clements, and Mark Elliott
A Family Is a Family Is a Family, by Sara O’Leary and Qin Leng
Fatty Legs: A True Story, by Christy Jordan-Fenton, Margaret Pokiak-Fenton and Liz Amini-Holmes
Festival of Colors, by Surishtha Sehgal, Kabir Sehgal and Vashti Harrison
The First Strawberries, by Joseph Bruchac and Anna Vojtech
The Flag of Childhood: Poems From the Middle East Nye, Naomi Shihab
Flying the Dragon, by Natalie Dias Lorenzi
Four Feet, Two Sandals, by Karen Lynn Williams, Khadra Mohammed and Doug Chayka
Gaby, Lost and Found, by Angela Cervantes
The Garden of My Imaan, by Farhana Zia
Going Down Home with Daddy, by Kelly Starling Lyons, and Daniel Minter
The Gold-Threaded Dress, by Carolyn Marsden
Gracefully Grayson, by Ami Polonsky
Grandmama’s Pride, by Becky Birtha
The Great Migration: Journey to the North, by Eloise Greenfield and Jan Spivey Gilchrist
Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog, by Pamela S. Turner and Yan Nascimbene
A Handful of Stars, by Cynthia Lord
Henry Aaron’s Dream, by Matt Tavares
The Hero Two Doors Down: Based on the True Story of Friendship between a Boy and a Baseball Legend, by Sharon Robinson
Hiawatha and the Peacemaker, by Robbie Robertson, and David Shannon
I am Jazz, by Jazz Jennings, Jessica Herthel and Shelagh McNicholas
I See the Sun in Afghanistan, by Dedie King, Judith Inglese and Mohd Vahidi
In Our Mothers’ House, by Patricia Polacco
Indian No More, by Charlene Willing McManis, and Traci Sorell
It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel, by Firoozeh Dumas
It Began with a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way, by Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad
Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World, by Ashley Herring Blake
Jasmine Toguchi, Flamingo Keeper (Jasmine Toguchi Series), by Debbi Michiko Florence, and Elizabet Vukovic
Juana & Lucas (Juana and Lucas Series), by Juana Medina
Julián Is a Mermaid (Julián Series), by Jessica Love
Knots on a Counting Rope, by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault and Ted Rand
Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story, by Reem Faruqi and Lea Lyon
The Legend of the Bluebonnet (Legends Series), by Tomie dePaola
The Life of Rosa Parks (Famous Lives Series), by Kathleen Connors
A Little Piece of Ground, by Elizabeth Laird, Sonia Nimr and Bill Neal
A Long Pitch Home, by Natalie Dias Lorenzi
Lost Boys, by Darcey Rosenblatt
Lucky Broken Girl, by Ruth Behar
Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel (Dyamonde Daniel Series), by Nikki Grimes, and R. Gregory Christie
Malala: A Hero for All (Step into Reading Series), by Shana Corey and Elizabeth Sayles
Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match (Marisol McDonald Series), by Monica Brown and Sara Palacios
Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968, by Alice Faye Duncan, R. Gregory Christie
The Mighty Miss Malone, by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher (Family Fletcher Series), by Dana Alison Levy
Molly of Denali: Berry Itchy Day, by WGBH Kids
The Moon Within, by Aida Salazar
Most Valuable Players (Rip and Red Series), by Phil Bildner and Tim Probert
The Mud Pony, by Caron Lee Cohen and Shonto Begay
My Mother’s Sari, by Sandhya Rao and Nina Sabnami
My Name Is María Isabel, by Alma Flor a, Kathryn Dyble Thompson and Ana M. Cerro
My Name Is Sally Little Song, by Brenda Woods
Nadia’s Hands, by Karen English, Jonathan Weiner
The Name Jar, by Yangsook Choi
The Night Diary, by Veera Hiranandani
Niño Wrestles the World (Niño Series), by Yuyi Morales,
Other Words for Home, by Jasmine Warga
Pink Is for Boys, by Robb Pearlman and Eda Kaban
Pink! by Lynne Rickards and Margaret Chamberlain
Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag, by Rob Sanders and Steven Salerno
The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes, by Duncan Tonatiuh
Proud: Living My American Dream (Young Readers Edition), by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, by Javaka Steptoe
Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates, by Jonah Winter and Raúl Colón
Sadako, by Eleanor Coerr and Ed Young
Sally and The Magical Sneeze, by Simon Taylor and A.D. Lester
Sam and the Lucky Money, by Karen Chinn, Ying-Hwa Hu, and Cornelius Van Wright
Sam!, by Dani Gabriel and Robert Liu-Trujillo
The Shark King, by R. Kikuo Johnson
Sing a Song: How “Lift Every Voice and Sing” Inspired Generations, by Kelly Starling Lyons and Keith Mallett
Soccer Star, by Mina Javaherbin and Renato Alarcao
Soldier for Equality: José de la Luz Sáenz and the Great War, by Duncan Tonatiuh
Sonia Sotomayor (Women Who Broke the Rules Series), by Kathleen Krull and Angela Dominguez
The Sound of Silence, by Katrina Goldsaito and Julia Kuo
Starry River of the Sky, by Grace Lin
Stella Brings the Family, by Miriam B. Schiffer and Holly Clifton-Brown
The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Street, by Gayle E. Pitman
Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution, Rob Sanders, by Jamey Christoph
A Storm Called Katrina, by Myron Uhlberg and Colin Bootman
A Sweet Smell of Roses, by Angela Johnson and Eric Velásquez
Swimming with Faith: The Missy Franklin Story (ZonderKidz Biography Series), by Natalie Davis Miller
Thank You, Jackie Robinson, by Barbara Cohen and Richard Cuffari
The List of Things That Will Not Change, by Rebecca Stead
To Night Owl from Dogfish, by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer
Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back: A Native American Year of Moons, by Joseph Bruchac, Jonathan Locker, Thomas London
This Place Is Not My Home, by Cyn Bermudez
Thunder Boy Jr., by Sherman Alexie and Yuyi Morales
Thunder Rose, by Jerdine Nolen and Kadir Nelson
Time to Pray, by Maha dasi, Ned Gannon, and Nuha Albitar
Totem Tale, by Deb Vanasse, Erik Brooks
The Turtle of Oman (The Turtle of Oman Series), by Naomi Shihab Nye and Betsy Peterschmidt
Two Roads, Joseph Bruchac
Unstoppable: How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Defeated Army (Encounter: Narrative Nonfiction Picture Books Series), by Art Coulson and Nick Hardcastle
Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer (Unusual Chickens Series), by Kelly Jones and Katie Kath
Virgie Goes to School with Us Boys, by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard and E.B. Lewis
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga Traci Sorell and Frane Lessac
Were I Not a Girl: The Inspiring and True Story of Dr. James Barry, Lisa, Robinson and Lauren Simkin Berke
When Aidan Became A Brother, by Kyle Lukoff and Kaylani Juanita
When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana, by Michael James Mahin and José Ramirez
When Spring Comes to the DMZ, by Uk-Bae Lee
Who Is the Dalai Lama? (Who was…? Series), by Dana Meachen Rau
Wilma’s Way Home: The Life of Wilma Mankiller, by Doreen Rappaport and Linda Kukuk
Winter Candle Frame, by Ashford Jeron and Stacey Schuett
Yang the Third and Her Impossible Family (The Yang Family Series), by Lensey Namioka, Kees de Kiefte
Yang the Youngest and his Terrible Ear (The Yang Family Series), by Lensey Namioka
