There are so many different guidelines for challenges. While questioning the presence of a book in libraries had traditionally been handled at the local level, we’re beginning to see states legislate not only what types of books school and libraries should make available to young readers, but also what should be the process to ban library material.

Two of Christopher Paul Curtis’s books have been challenged in Florida, The Mighty Miss Malone and The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963. The Watsons was challenged for inappropriate language and violence while Miss Malone, along with a wide selection of other books belonging to the Duval County’s Essential Voices collection was removed for administrative reasons.  This collection was especially curated to provide books with wider representation to struggling readers with the hope of building their reading proficiency. 1,290 titles were approved by the district’s superintendent and Board of Education in April, 2021, and within a year’s time they were ordered to be removed from shelves. The books were kept in storage for around 10 months for review. 47 titles were returned to the publisher while other titles were returned to classrooms. Some were completely banned from the school district. I searched Duval’s online catalog and found both of Curtis’s books are available in at least one middle school and available for checkout.

I was able to find this information through work from Florida Freedom to Read Project.

In January, Curtis was announced Novelist Christopher Paul Curtis to receive the 2024 Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement Award.

Contact:
Publisher’s website: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/6203/christopher-paul-curtis/

Books
Next publication: [waiting patiently]
Most recent release: The Journey of Charlie Little