A 29-year-old Iranian artist and women’s rights activist is facing up to two years in prison, plus corporal punishment, for a cartoon she drew last year criticizing a bill that would outlaw some forms of birth control. Atena Farghadani’s trial…
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The Handmaid’s Tale Under Attack in Oregon School
Despite claiming she is “not a book banner,” an Oregon parent has launched a crusade against Margaret Atwood’s classic dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale, claiming the book is too sexually explicit and violent for seniors in AP English to handle.…
Charter School Censors Penguin Play
Canceling the show was “the best thing for our community.” This was a statement given by a parent regarding the unanimous decision to cancel a showing of the play And Then Came Tango at Sierra Foothill Charter School near Fresno,…
Cartoonist to Leave Charlie Hebdo Amid Staff Tensions
The fallout from the January attack on Charlie Hebdo continues, as surviving cartoonist Luz confirmed this week that he plans to leave the publication in September. The news comes in the midst of a public dispute among staff over the…
Jeff Smith Celebrates the Freedom to Read Foundation
If you happen to be in New York City on May 29, consider joining CBLDF board member Jeff Smith, the creator of Bone and RASL, to celebrate the freedom to read! Smith will join bestselling young adult authors Carolyn Mackler…
North Carolina Teacher Under Fire for Reading Same-Sex Fairy Tale in Class
King & King, a frequently-challenged picture book by Linda De Haan and Stern Nijland about two princes who fall in love, is at the center of a controversy in rural Orange County, North Carolina. Third-grade teacher Omar Currie read the…
Listen Up: Charles Brownstein Talks Comics Censorship at TCAF!
CBLDF’s Charles Brownstein spoke about intellectual freedom and comics censorship at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, and we have recorded proof thanks to Jamie Coville! During the panel, “Protecting Comics: Graphic Novel Challenges in Today’s Libraries,” which was part of…
SPRING INTO ACTION and Support Our Multimedia Content!
Did you know that every year CBLDF reaches thousands of people with our multimedia resources? Aside from regular news coverage here on CBLDF.org, we now produce a podcast and a free quarterly news magazine. CBLDF needs your membership to continue…
The Kite Runner Challenged in North Carolina High School
A review committee in the Asheville, North Carolina, school system has deemed Khaled Hosseini The Kite Runner “an appropriate curriculum resource and in alignment with the current state wide instructional standards,” but the book could be suspended again pending an…
Using Graphic Novels in Education: Beanworld
Welcome to Using Graphic Novels in Education, an ongoing feature from CBLDF that is designed to allay confusion around the content of graphic novels and to help parents and teachers raise readers. In this column, we examine graphic novels, including…