Take this quiz to check your knowledge of efforts to ban books in U.S. school & public libraries. You'll find the correct answers highlighted below. Just comment on the blog or email author@lindalovely.com with QUIZ in the subject line to enter a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card. Deadline July 31.
1. Which book has NOT been banned in the U.S. since 2021?
a. George Orwell’s 1984
b. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
c. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
d. They’ve all been banned
2. How many instances of book banning have occurred in US school and public libraries since 2021?
a. 20,000
b. 10,000
c. 5,000
d. 1,000
3. State-issued banned book decrees are forcing libraries/teachers to take drastic steps. Which of the following statements are true?
a. An Idaho library became “adults only” because it wasn’t big enough to relocate material where minors couldn’t access/see it.
b. Some Tennessee libraries restrict anyone under 18 to the children’s section unless they’re accompanied by a parent or guardian. No dice looking at YA titles.
c. Florida teachers can have their professional teaching certificates revoked if they guess wrong about the books they use in their classrooms.
d. All of the above
4. Most people know Texas and Florida are “leaders” in the rush to ban books. Which states fill out the top five slots for most banned books?
a. Iowa, Idaho & Montana
b. Missouri, Utah & South Carolina
c. Mississippi, Alabama & California
d. North Dakota, New Mexico & North Carolina
5. Book banning and religion. Which of these statements about major religion books is/are true?
a. Soviet Russia banned the Bible & the Quran from 1926-1957 as “socially deviant” texts.
b. The Bible was banned in elementary & middle grade school libraries in a Utah county.
c. Oklahoma now requires the Bible to be taught in public school classes.
6. Who challenges books & what % of voters support book bans? Which of these statements is/are true?
a. Moms for Liberty is connected to 58% of all advocacy-led book bans around the country
b. A 2022 American Library Association-commissioned poll found 70% of voters oppose book bans.
c. “Wholesale book bans” refer to state mandates to remove all titles from school library shelves until their content can be reviewed in light of new, often vague, state laws.
d. Florida recently revised legislation to reduce the ability of Florida residents without children in local public schools to challenge multiple books in local K-12 libraries.
7. All of the items listed below trigger more than 10% of the requests to ban books in school libraries. Can you reorder them (greatest to lowest percentage) of bans related to each trigger?
a. present LGBTQ+ characters or themes
b. mention teen pregnancy, abortion, or sexual assault
c. include violence & physical abuse
d. detail sexual experiences between characters
e. characters of color or discuss race and racism
f. address student health & wellbeing (suicide, bullying, substance abuse, sexual wellbeing & puberty)
g. themes of grief and death (a character dies or a death impacts character)
ANSWERS
1. Which book has NOT been banned in the U.S. since 2021?
a. George Orwell’s 1984
b. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
c. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
d. They’ve all been banned
2. How many instances of book banning have occurred in US school and public libraries since 2021?
a. 20,000
b. 10,000
c. 5,000
d. 1,000
3. State-issued banned book decrees are forcing libraries/teachers to take drastic steps. Which of the following statements are true?
a. An Idaho library became “adults only” because it wasn’t big enough to relocate material where minors couldn’t access/see it.
b. Some Tennessee libraries restrict anyone under 18 to the children’s section unless they’re accompanied by a parent or guardian. No dice looking at YA titles.
c. Florida teachers can have their professional teaching certificates revoked if they guess wrong about the books they use in their classrooms.
d. All of the above
4. Most people know Texas and Florida are “leaders” in the rush to ban books. Which states fill out the top five slots for most banned books?
a. Iowa, Idaho & Montana
b. Missouri, Utah & South Carolina
c. Mississippi, Alabama & California
d. North Dakota, New Mexico & North Carolina
5. Book banning and religion. Which of these statements about major religion books is/are true? ALL ARE TRUE.
a. Soviet Russia banned the Bible & the Quran from 1926-1957 as “socially deviant” texts.
b. The Bible was banned in elementary & middle grade school libraries in a Utah county. (But that has since been changed.)
c. Oklahoma now requires the Bible to be taught in public school classes.
6. Who challenges books & what % of voters support book bans? Which of these statements is/are true? ALL ARE TRUE.
a. Moms for Liberty is connected to 58% of all advocacy-led book bans around the country
b. A 2022 American Library Association-commissioned poll found 70% of voters oppose book bans.
c. “Wholesale book bans” refer to state mandates to remove all titles from school library shelves until their content can be reviewed in light of new, often vague, state laws.
d. Florida recently revised legislation to reduce the ability of Florida residents without children in local public schools to challenge multiple books in local K-12 libraries.
7. All of the items listed below trigger more than 10% of the requests to ban books in school libraries. Can you reorder them (greatest to lowest percentage) of bans related to each trigger?
c. include violence & physical abuse
f. address student health & wellbeing (suicide, bullying, substance abuse, sexual wellbeing & puberty)
g. themes of grief and death (a character dies or a death impacts character)
e. characters of color or discuss race and racism
a. present LGBTQ+ characters or themes
d. detail sexual experiences between characters
b. mention teen pregnancy, abortion, or sexual assault
PEN America is the source of much of this information. It’s a great champion of freedom to read
Comments