Why is book banning on the rise in the United States? Are the children in danger? And what does “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” have to do with all of this? This week, we tell the story of the modern book banning, the “Ed Scare” movement, and how adults project political messages onto children's literature.

You will learn:

• Why are books banned?
• How did today’s book banning movement start?
• What gives children’s books the power to compel adults to politically organize?
• How does this power change from pro or anti censorship perspectives?

Sections:

• 0:00 - Intro
• 1:48 - If You Give a Mouse a Cookie & Book Banning
• 12:00 - Debrief
• 43:19 - Announcements (and roasting M4L)

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Sources:

• [Washington Post, 2015] One of America’s most Popular children's books has a secret political messagehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/12/21/one-of-americas-most-popular-childrens-books-has-a-secret-political-message/
• [Slate, 2020] How a Classic Children’s Book Got Hijacked by the Culture Warshttps://slate.com/culture/2020/02/if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie-welfare-culture-wars.html
  [PEN America, 2023] Banned in the USA: Mounting Pressure to Censurehttps://pen.org/report/book-bans-pressure-to-censor/