Slowly books are being banned from the library of fourth grader Amy Anne Ollinger. It begins with her favorite and much checked-out book, Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, but the list grows rapidly. And worse, the process for removing books is not being followed, which has given all veto power to one parent in the community. The students take on the challenge of restoring their library and their books with the battle cry of "Nobody has the right to tell you what books you can and can’t read except your parents.”

The author makes a compelling case for the right to read. As the list of books climbs and many of my childhood favorites made the list, (taken from actual book banning attempts today), I became more and more engrossed in the outcome. While many of the characters in this book are precociously clever or world-knowledgeable, I found them to be in the vein of Charles Schultz's Lucy; sarcastic, clever, and not to be crossed. These students are a powerful force and this book is sure to be fodder for conversation about right, privilege and responsibility.

Amy Anne is a fifth grader who reads to escape. When she finds her favorite book has been banned from her school library she finds herself taking action in a way she never thought she could. This is a lovely story about finding your own voice right in the middle of a really important conversation about censorship and book banning. I can't wait to put this one in my school library.

<i>Ban This Book</i> is the latest in a long line of middle-grade reads designed to send a message about a school/societal ill using precocious kids subverting authority. This is basically the <i>Frindle</i> of banned books, and as a message title that deals with a long-discussed topic, it's absolutely fine.

This book will appeal to the readers that it's geared toward in part due to the cameos of sorts by a lot of their favorite titles and authors - Dav Pilkey and <i>Captain Underpants</i> both feature broadly in this book in particular - and while the book does veer into unlikely territory as the arms race escalates, you can almost forgive it for the overall message.

While I fear this is more a book for librarians than for kids, there's enough kid appeal here to get through the noise, and Alan Gratz is a known name in slightly older circles in his writing, so this has a lot of promise. I don't know if I'd put it ahead of the Clements "School Stories," but it's worth being part of the discussion.

Love the concept of course but it was a bit heavy handed. I think Gratz was trying to include as much as possible in terms of books that have been banned and the reasons why and it just didn't come out in an authentic way. I do believe children need to see examples of questioning authority so I'm glad that was central to this story. Definitely a book to start a discussion, I just wish the execution had been better.

This book is fantastic!! I saw so much of myself in Amy Anne!! Oldest of 3 girls, avid reader, Quiet and reserved until pushed to the breaking point. And the whole theme/idea/plot of the book too! Absolutely love it! I think that in addition to kids reading this, educators, parents, school board members, and administrators need to read it as well. Most people don't realize that most, if not all libraries have a Reconsideration Request form and policy that needs to be followed before a book is removed from a library. In addition to being entertaining, this book also is very informative.

For any student who has ever been frustrated by being unable to speak up when necessary ... for any student who has ever wanted to fight injustice in its most personal form ... for anyone who has ever had to deal with the political forces that try to dictate personal choice, this book will have you cheering, laughing and in league with a . passionate 4th grader who fights back when her school library is threatened.

This book was dee-light-ful. Charming story, but also informational regarding what goes on in schools when a book is challenged (at least to the Middle Grade set it's intended for ... I should hope Growns know more about book challenges and our free speech rights already!)

I love that those doing the challenging (or "banning") come to be understood in some fashion... in that everyone has a viewpoint, and sometimes you have to look at life through their eyes to understand where they are coming from.

Moral of the story : Nobody has the right to tell kids what they can't read except for <b>their</b> parents. Can I get an AMEN from the librarians out there?

“Nobody has the right to tell you what books you can and can’t read except your parents.”

AMEN, Amy Anne Ollinger! I couldn’t have said it better myself. In this world filled with “fake news,” Twitter rants, political espionage, and nuclear threats, it’s easy to forget that the censorship of books still exists. However, according to the American Library Association’s Field Report 2016, at least 46 books were challenged during the reported year, and an estimated 82-97% of challenges are never reported. That’s a lot of challenges. Ban This Book by Alan Gratz shines a light on this often-overlooked issue.
In Ban This Book, Amy Anne Ollinger goes to her Elementary School Library to check out her favorite book, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. But when she gets to the spot where her favorite book resides, it’s not there. It’s not anywhere! When she frantically questions the librarian, Mrs. Jones, about it, she finds out that her beloved book has been banned, along with ten other books! But her favorite book is wonderful! It’s exciting! It’s her lifeline! And everyone should be able to read it. So, Amy Anne embarks on a mission to acquire all the banned books and start her own library out of her locker. But, the banned books list just keeps getting longer and the student interest in the books keeps getting greater! How long can Amy Anne keep this up?
I loved the message of this book: individuals and families need to be given the power to decide what children should and should not read – it is not a community matter. There is a fine line that school librarians have to walk between providing free and open access to knowledge without bias and protecting children from content too mature for them. This book did not advocate for unmitigated, free access to all books for elementary school children. The school librarian, Mrs. Jones, emphasized several times that there was an approved, established system for reviewing the appropriateness of books that were being questioned. The issue was this system was being subverted, and it was being subverted by one parent who had decided that she knew what was best (based on online reviews) for every student.
A second message contained in this book was that children are capable of instigating change. While this is absolutely true, and children need to be encouraged to stand up for what is right, I do have a few concerns with how the characters go about working for change. Amy Anne defies a direct request from her principal. Amy Anne and the Banned Books Locker Library board steal from the librarian (even though they call it borrowing from the library). Amy Anne and Trey skip school and encourage friends to skip class. Now, I know this is a work of fiction and the characters are fighting against an injustice that must be righted, I just wish they had found a way to do so that was more within the bounds of the rules. This book seems to be encouraging students to get change by any means necessary. Not sure that’s a message I want to send.
Overall, this book was engaging and unique! And certainly discusses an important topic! I’ll admit that I am more familiar with Mr. Gratz’s YA works and so was expecting a book for an older audience (completely my fault for jumping at the author and subject and not reading the summary), but I was still pleased and satisfied when I finished the book. Because of the mature way the characters spoke, the fact that they used lockers, and the amount of time they seemed to spend in the hall, I often forgot that they were elementary students. It was easy to read them as older, thus making it more universal. I was a little disappointed in the whole “poor me! my sisters are so annoying and I have nowhere to go to get away from them! I’m want to run away!” dynamic, but again, as a book for a younger audience, this is completely appropriate. After finishing the book and thinking on it, I don’t think it could have been set anywhere but an elementary school library. The books banned by the parent are all well-loved children’s classics, a category we just don’t have in the high school. By having the targets of the banning be books we all know and have read and have loved, the story becomes more personal, the characters more relate-able, and the injustice more insufferable.

This was an outstanding book to use with kids in the discussion of banning books and the larger concepts surrounding it. By using popular book titles that many readers and their parents and teachers will be familiar with the author immediately draws us into the story and makes us want to stand up and fight for what we believe in while also seeing that their really are two sides to every argument.

I thought this was a great book! It presented a wide range of challenging ideas appropriately and thoughtfully presented for its audience. What a brilliant any to spark discussion about a variety of important issues. I loved the fact that the characters flaws were held up for gentle examination. I loved the fact it inspired young people to recognise the importance of trading without adopting a didactic tone. The main character was wonderfully sweet, yet fiery and provocative. The adults were generally sympathetic and the morals presented were ones that most people could believe in. I liked the use of reality and feel the urge to read every book of the BBLL myself!

Another great book by Alan Gratz. I will definitely be adding more than one copy to our collection.

I absolutely love this novel! Ban This Book has a simple premise, a well meaning mother wants books removed from an elementary school library for various reasons that are important to her. However, when avid reader Amy Anne learns her favorite novel is on the list, the quiet little book worm takes action. Amy Anne enlists help from her friends Danny and Rebecca to save the books from being banned. This novel made me sad, angry, and helpless as I read, because I know many books are banned daily in schools across the US. However, I also felt hopeful, because there are Amy Anne's who can help fight the good fight to protect our right to read ALL books. Amy Anne said it best. "Nobody has the right to tell you what books you can and can't read. Except your parents." I'm so thankful to NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review. I'm also thankful to Alan Gratz for continuing to tackle important issues in his novels.

Ask any bibliophile what they think about banning books and you're sure to get an earful.  At the very core of our being is the need to read anything and everything that we wish.  So when someone mentions banning a book based on a moral objection, that's dangerous territory.

Amy Anne loves to read.  And she has one book that she loves to read above all others:  From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.  She checks it out from the school library as often as she can.  In fact, she'd check it out every single time if she could.  When she goes to check it out one day, however, it's not there.  To her dismay, she finds out that it's been removed.  Banned, even.  Somebody somewhere decided that this most favorite book of hers, along with several others, isn't appropriate for kids to read.

Thus begins Amy Anne's mission.  She takes it upon herself to make sure that all the kids can read all the books.  Along the way she learns to voice her opinion, to make friends, and to follow her heart even when it's not the easy thing to do. 

Do parents have the right to choose what books they want their children to read?  Absolutely.  However, they don't have the right to choose what books everyone else's children are allowed to read.  It's a slippery slope when one book is banned because somebody has an objection, and that message is driven home through this narrative. 

 I loved this book so very much.  Amy Anne is me when I was a kid in so many ways.  Losing herself in books, not speaking up because she didn't want to cause trouble for anyone, she resonated deeply with me.  I only wish that the younger version of me had as much courage as she did to stand up for something she believed in. 

*Note:  I'd recommend this one for middle school and up.  Although the message is appropriate for all ages, there is some mention of more mature content.

*Another note:  All of the books in this fictional story are books that have actually been challenged or banned at one time or another. 

*One more note:  When I started this book, I had no idea that Amy Anne's most favorite book in the whole wide world was also my most favorite book in the whole wide world when I was a kid.

Ban This Book by Alan Gratz was the story of a young girl finding her voice at home, school and in her community after her favorite book is banned from the school library. Amy Anne always does what is asked of her and is a staunch rule follower, never speaking up when things seem unfair because it just doesn't seem worth it. As more and more injustices seem to come her way at home and at school she finally finds her voice and speaks up to her family, school board and community. I loved this book for the value placed on children's voices and how important it is to stand up for what you believe in even when it goes against powerful, influential adults. This is a must read!

I was so excited to see this book. I haven't seen a grade school level book on banning books since "The Day They Came to Arrest the Book". I think that this is going to become a bigger problem in the future and I like the idea of the introducing the subject before they have to deal with it in real life. I love the way the kids deal with the problems and how it's made clear that they are breaking the rules but are willing to take the consequences for something they feel is important. I also like the parents putting their foot down at the end of the book in a way that reinforces the belief the kids were fighting for.

I adored this book, such an important message about the power of books and also thevabuse of power mixed with a strong family story. Even though there isn't book banning in this scale in the UK this is still an important story