I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK. As someone who has created an entire tiktok following surrounding banned books, this book was ABSOLUTELY perfect. It shows young readers (and older ones too!) how dangerous book banning really is. And also how silly the arbitrary reasons often can be for a book being banned. I thought this did such an amazing job. Everyone needs this book.

What a great book to show us all the results of banning books. I love how it playfully shows us that banning books is not a good idea. It’s shows are if we took everything away that offended or upset someone and banned the books that have them we would have nothing left. The real meaning of the book is so important to me as a book advocate. The playful illustrations add to creativity of this story. SHowing kids in a fun way why banning is ridiculous. I think this is a perfect book to share with all youth and even with adults.

This book is a great way to introduce the concept of banned books. It is presented in a format which adults and children alike can enjoy and understand.

Funny & timely book for the current culture of book banning. Perfect representation of how ridiculous it is to ban books, and does a great job putting it in terms kids can understand - and hopefully help them advocate against banning books in their communities.

{This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.}

Personally, I did not like this book. I understand the thought process behind it, I just didnt like it. I also think it was a little too much for anyone under 12 years of age.

The tone works, but the content doesn't quite hit the mark. Writing a book about banning books for kids is a tough one because the reason books are getting banned is so nuanced and embedded in hatred toward particular groups of people. I don't think much is added to the conversation here, and kids might just leave confused.

This Book is Banned is a cute, impactful picture book by Raj Haldar, author of P is for Pteradactyl. After his first title landed on the banned book list, Raj Halder decided to write another picture book that will hopefully illustrate to children and adults alike the harm that banning things can have. I think this story nails it!

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of this title.

Raj Haldar gives us a simple, nonpolitical story about why it's a bad idea to ban things because some people don't like them. Humor is used to illustrate the concept. This story can be used alone for the littlest book lovers or as a starting point to exploring censorship for readers of all ages.

This was a really fun book! This book was cute and colorful, with a great an important message that is unfortunately very relevant to our current reality. I think it would be a great way to start a conversation on the topic of banned books with young children.

Such a fun, cute book that explains the concept of banning books in a way that kids will understand. This will be a great addition to libraries all over! The illustrations are great, and I can see this being told with some silly character voices to help the story along! Highly recommend!

Kind of silly, and I can see the point this book was trying to make. I think some of it succeeded, but I'm concerned a lot of kids won't understand the references to current events.

I appreciate what the authors are trying to do here, but I'm unsure of the target audience for this. The people who are likely to read this book to their children are the ones who are against book bans in the first place. It's a cutesy little book akin to "There's a Monster at the End of this Book." Kids are sure to play along and think it's fun but the deep message of it won't get across to the people it needs to.

As a library worker in a community experiencing challenges to the freedom to read, I appreciate the author and illustrator’s attempt to tackle the issue of book banning using humor. I don’t really understand who the target audience is for this book. I think little ones are too young to understand the subject matter, and older children would find it too silly.

Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for providing an advance copy. Opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of This Book is Banned by Raj Halder. This is a cute book which provides a user-friendly definition of the word “banned” and how just because you don’t want something, it doesn’t mean someone else feels the same way. The book, which is colorful and engaging, is a good introduction to infringing on others' enjoyment because of your beliefs and fighting censorship. This Book is Banned has an expected publication release date of September 26, 2023, which is before the official start of Banned Book Week on October 1, 2023.

Five Stars!

I personally feel that this book needs to be front and center at all libraries, and on every book display. The way that the author shows how fast and how out of no way banning one thing can lead to another. It explains in such a way that everyone can understand how once you start banning stuff it because a very slippery slope. I read this book a couple times, and told all my neighbors that they need to pick this one up.

This book far exceeded my expectations and I had high ones. The author and illustrator do a fantastic job of conveying the danger of book bans to a younger audience (and the ridiculousness of them to adults). I highly recommend this title. It will undoubtable encourage conversation and bring delight to readers all ages.

While book bans and challenges are nothing new, they have become much more widespread and are affecting classrooms, school libraries, and public libraries in unprecedented ways. Given their pervasiveness and the discourse surrounding issues of censorship, it is inevitable that young readers are hearing more and more about book bans. Talking about book challenges and bans are important, and fortunately "This Book is Banned" by Raj Haldar offers a clear and approachable introduction for children. Haldar tackles this serious and complex topic with humor while also stressing the importance of the freedom to read. I highly recommend this book!

If you are looking for a great way to teach about book banning, I highly recommend This Book is Banned by Raj Haldar. The story begins with saying that this book is about dinosaurs but then dinosaurs aren’t allowed. The author then continues to say that the book is about other things but then it turns out that the item isn’t allowed.

After reading the book, you realize that if we continue to reject books because someone may not like what the book is about or about something that is in the book, then we may not have any books. This Book is Banned is a picture book but I feel that individuals of all ages could learn from reading the book. Julia Patton created colorful and adorable illustrations that will delight young readers.

Done in creative picture book format, the author and illustrator explain what it means to ban something, whether it be Giraffes, because the Hippos feel they eat all of the leaves, or rearranging a story so everyone is happy.

By way of a picture book and some outlandish illustrations, Haldar gets the point across that banning books is bad. Can we talk about dinosaurs - nope, that topic is banned. Avocados - nope - banned. Children will see the humor and receive a very important message along the way.

Hoping that every library gets a copy of this book and that classroom teachers will share it with their students. A great read for everyone from young to children to the oldsters.