LGBTQ children’s books face record calls for bans in US libraries

Annual list of the most challenged books includes Alex Gino’s George, about a transgender girl, and John Oliver’s picture book about a gay rabbit, A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo

Attempts to remove books from libraries across the US rose almost a fifth last year, with children’s books featuring LGBTQ characters making up 80% of the most challenged books.

The American Library Association’s annual list of the most challenged books in public, school and academic libraries was topped by Alex Gino’s George, which has made the top 10 every year since it was published in 2015. Objections to the book, about a child who “knows she’s not a boy”, cited sexual references and conflict with “traditional family structure”, with some saying schools and libraries should not “put books in a child’s hand that require discussion”.

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