What does it mean for a book to ban? What are some books that have been banned? Why were they banned? These are some of the questions many people have, especially since this week is Banned Books Week. If we’re going to have a week dedicated to banned books, we should at least know what that means.

When a book is banned, it is usually because it contains mature content or mature themes. It’s almost like movie ratings. When a movie contains adult content or adult themes, they get rated R for Restricted. When a book contains mature content or mature themes, they are subject to being banned. Books are most commonly banned by libraries, communities, and even schools. When a book is banned, it is not likely to have been prohibited by the U.S Government or the U.S as a whole. When a book is challenged, it means that people are trying to get them banned. Banning is the actual restriction of the book.

Some examples of books that were banned/challenged were “The Hate You Give” by Angie Thomas, “Drama” by Raina Telgemeir, “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher, and the “Captain Underpants” series. “The Hate You Give” was challenged because it contains drug use, vulgar language, and references to mature content. “Drama” was challenged because it includes LGBTQIA+ themes and characters. “Thirteen Reasons Why” was challenged because the entire book(and TV Show) was centered around teen suicide.

These are only some of the books that have been banned. These are just some of the more popular ones to be challenged most recently. I hope that this article has helped you get a clearer idea as to what it means when someone says a book is banned or has been challenged.