Resources on Teaching Kids to Think Freely in a Time of Book Bans
How to explain book bans in a way that empowers—not scares—your child.
The rise in attacks on free speech is ongoing. The role us parents play in raising bold changemakers can’t be understated as our educators and librarians face increased limitations on what they can offer children through restrictions on DEI and book bans.
Book bans are attempts to dictate and limit what our kids are reading. Many times, the books that are banned reflect the experiences of people who belong to marginalized communities, like queer people and Black people. We’ve also witnessed bans against books about accurate history.
Reading banned books can be life-affirming for some kids who may feel isolated in their everyday lives because of their identity. It can show them existence and resilience and this can be empowering as they maneuver life.
But us parents are our kiddos’ first teachers, right? So when we see clear attempts to limit free speech, we can fight back. We have the power to teach our children about censorship and their right to be free to read books that reflect a diversity of experiences.
Banned Books Week 2025 (October 5-11) is right around the corner and if you’ve ever been wanting a toolkit to talk with your kids about fairness, belonging, and book bans, we have good news for you.
The Brooklyn Public Library recently released just the most incredible set of resources for you and your kiddos called the Freedom to Read Toolkit for Children and Families. This toolkit was developed in partnership with Pat Scales, Unite Against Book Bans, BPL’s Books Unbanned team, and the National Coalition Against Censorship.
The Freedom to Read Toolkit for Children and Families is 10 pages of activities and guidance for families with kids ages 2-8 meant to spark age-appropriate convos about intellectual freedom, book bans and the importance of diverse stories. It includes booklists, actionable advocacy ideas and activities for you and your little ones to dig into to spark some conversations.
How can you get a copy?
If you live in Brooklyn, NY, drop by a local library and pick up a hard copy of this toolkit during Banned Books Week (October 5-11). Check out the online version here. Be sure to visit BPL’s programming for you and your children for Banned Books Week.
We’re also super excited to share a few pages with you. These are printable PDFs so feel free to download and print for your family. Be sure to access additional resources through the QR codes.
And last but not least, because you know we like to leave you with some actionable guidance, us parents and caregivers can help our kiddos fight for their freedom to read with the following activities.
Banning books, preventing our children from reading books that reflect a diversity of experiences is another step towards an inequitable and unjust society. Fighting book bans can be a family activity. We encourage you to prioritize these books all year long, and especially so during Banned Books Week.
Together, we’re building a world where our kids, no matter their identity, can find themselves in the books they read, sending a clear message to all children that they belong, they are loved and they matter.
Enjoy the rest of your week, okay? Try to find bits of joy and hold on to it. Parenting is hard. We get it….but we’re in this together.
Take care,
Tabitha & Adam