Getting the Banned Back Together: the Skylark Banned Books Subscription!
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Stories about book challenges and bannings have made startling headlines in the news lately: A Tennessee school district bans Art Spiegleman’s Maus; a Missouri district challenges Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. Although book challenges and bannings have occurred throughout history, 2021 marked an unprecedented year in sheer numbers. The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom recorded 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials, resulting in 1,597 individual book challenges or removals. These figures, however, represent only a tiny fraction of book challenges. Surveys report that a sobering 82-97% of book challenges aren’t ever officially reported.
At Skylark Bookshop we unequivocally support challenged and banned books and the freedom to read. We support American Library Association President’s Patricia “Patty” Wong’s statement:
Diverse books create a better lens through which all children can see themselves in library collections. And yet these very titles–the ones addressing cultural invisibility and cultivating understanding–are the ones that are the most frequently challenged.
Recognizing that many of our customers also support the freedom to read, Skylark Bookshop is proud to offer a Challenged/Banned Books subscription. Here are the details:
Price: We are offering both a 6-month and 12-month subscription. The 6 months subscription costs $150,00; the 12-month, $275.00. This price includes tax, mailing and packaging and we will donate 10% of all proceeds of these subscriptions to the banned books program run by our friends at EyeSeeMe bookstore in St. Louis which provides free banned books to students and families (see below).
Recommended readers: We’re recommending that ages 13+ participate, but parents/guardians, of course, can make the final decision with their child.
Format: We’re going with paperback copies.
Publication date: Challenging or banning books is nothing new, so we’ll be offering a fascinating mix of older and newer titles. To kick off the subscription, we’re excited to announce Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe as the first month’s title. Maia was a featured speaker at this year’s Unbound Book Festival, and this title is the top most challenged title of 2021. Every copy we mail out will be signed!
Education: Not only is it important to read these books, it’s also valuable to know the reasons as to why they’ve been challenged or banned. Therefore, we’ll include a short paragraph with each title about its challenged or banned history
Substitutions: Since we’re planning out this special subscription for an entire year, we’re requesting no title substitutions, please. Additionally, it’s going to be fun for all subscribers to read the same book. And if you’ve already read the book, you might consider rereading it to gain additional perspective. Alternatively, feel free to pass along your copy to a friend or family member.
Other ideas: Depending on interest, we are considering hosting a book club gathering about one or more of the titles. We’d also encourage you to read the book with a friend, with your family, or with a group at your church, school, etc.. There are lots of possibilities!
Please give us a call at 573.777.6990 or shoot us an email to begin this special subscription.
