Book haul : Little Free Libraries (Fall/Winter 2022)

There are several Little Free Libraries within easy walking distance in my neighborhood. Here are four middle-grade books, plus one book for Young Adults, which I discovered recently.

Book response: ‘Felix Ever After’

I’ve been going through tasks and charting possible titles for Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge for 2023.

Having read and enjoyed Kacen Callender’s middle-grade offerings, King and the Dragonflies and Hurricane Child; reading Felix Ever After seemed a natural choice for prompt #1, “Read a novel about a trans character written by a trans author.”

The author describes Felix Ever After as a “deeply personal story,” one that they “put [their] heart and soul” into, as well as a “strong dose of vulnerability.”

Federal investigation of book censorship in Texas school district

The U.S. Education Department has launched what appears to be the first investigation of its kind, one explicitly tied to a nationwide movement to ban books from school libraries that address sexuality and gender. The investigation concerns a North Texas school district, where the superintendent ordered school librarians to remove LGBTQIA+ books.

Book challenges : Limited awareness outside library profession

Despite “some very high-profile outlets” reporting on efforts to ban books in libraries, “public awareness of this issue is extremely low.” At Knowledge Quest, Steve Tetreault expresses that “book challenge fatigue” hit him all over again when he saw a post to Twitter by account-holder Mrs. Singer.

“I learned over the holiday weekend that laypeople think that a book challenge and a reading challenge are the same thing. Alas, no.”
- Mrs. Singer (@librariansinger), Nov. 28, 2022

Tetreault opines that “[M]ost Americans prefer intellectual freedom, representation, and honesty for all our students. And they don’t realize those preferences are being undercut. Taking a moment to let them know could make a tremendous difference for our students.”

ALA supports Missouri librarians

The American Library Association supports Missouri librarians in opposing administrative rule 15 CSR 30-200.015, which “threatens to diminish library programs and services for all Missourians.”