Thank you for having us on the show!

If you were ever wondering what we're up against, this is a website book banners created to train people to get books banned in their own communities. I found my kids' school in here, and the books this website suggests I get banned from their library. www.takebacktheclassroom.com/school-detai...

Caroline Pritchard, Joanna Ho & Dan Santat created the book THE DAY THE STORIES DISAPPEARED. It emphasizes no one is invisible in stories. Books make all our voices worthy ✨ YOUR voice deserves to be told. You belong in books, belong in Libraries, belong in the world… you belong everywhere 💚

@mychal3ts.bsky.social and @maggietokudahall.bsky.social so generously shared their book and library wisdom on a panel about book banning with @carolinekpritchard.bsky.social and I to launch our book just days before this visit cancellation. Grateful for our bookish community!

Censored in California Authors @joannahowrites.bsky.social and @carolinekpritchard.bsky.social have issued a statement in response to the book banning and censorship situation that took place at Country Club Elementary School in San Ramon, California. Please take a moment to read their words.

Thank you to the community who has rallied around to support!

The debate around what is or isn’t “cancel culture” really just obscures a simple truth that it’s BAD to be massively racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic and it’s GOOD to speak out against injustice. Some things are good and some things are bad and it’s okay to say which you think are which.

#TalkswithRoger: @joannahowrites.bsky.social + @carolinekpritchard.bsky.social talk w/ Roger Sutton abt THE DAY THE BKS DISAPPEARED (Disney Hyperion) "JH: We landed on the idea of a kid w/ the power to 'disappear' bks, but we had convos abt how this maps to bk banning" www.hbook.com/story/joanna...

Fun #picturebook packed with puns and kid-friendly humor --but also explores what it's like to feel like you don't fit in, the immigrant experience, and how traditions can change over time. Adorable boba characters, too! Well done, @joannahowrites.bsky.social and Amber Ren! #kidlit

This fantastic book is helping me shape our opening lessons for 4th and 5th grade about reading habits. The humor will get their attention. Can't wait to read this with students! @joannahowrites.bsky.social @carolinekpritchard.bsky.social @dansantat.bsky.social #KidLit #TLSky #Skybrarians

What a great 🌟 review! @slj.com says THE DAY THE BOOKS DISAPPEARED by @joannahowrites.bsky.social and @carolinekpritchard.bsky.social, illustrated by @dansantat.bsky.social is "Destined to become a cherished read-aloud in classrooms everywhere." www.schoollibraryjournal.com/review/the-d...

I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE. This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined. It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.

A radical Christian just murdered the speaker of a state house but the real worry is the theocratic muslim who said the bus should be cheaper

Instead of just buying banned books, sign up to speak at your local school board or city council meeting. Join the friends of the library or get on the library board. Run for your school board or county commission. We can’t capitalism our way out of this.

Sotomayor, in dissent, correctly says that today's decision in Mahmoud will lead public schools to simply censor books featuring LGBTQ characters and themes, creating "chaos" and stigmatizing children with LGBTQ families. This decision will lead to book bans. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

These students - and these parents - and their librarians and educators - SO proud of how hard they've worked for the Freedom to Read. And what a win this is. cc @authorsabb.bsky.social @flfreedomread.bsky.social @sbintegrityproject.bsky.social @txfreedomread.bsky.social pen.org/press-releas...

Supporting local library associations is an easy way to help protect the right to read. (And a quick way to check off your activism for the day, if that's how you do it) Reply with a link to donate to yours & we'll repost.

We interviewed @lilmisshotmess.bsky.social on our podcast last year. Check out the episode in Kidlit Happy Hour podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/k...

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Are you in South Carolina! Here's the contact info for the Board of Education who recently decided to deny your kids access to 10 books regardless of what you think. Make sure to contact your state reps to! www.ed.sc.gov/contact/

Texas! @frankstrong.bsky.social put together this incredible guide to defending the right to read in your upcoming elections! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Texas! Bill HB3225 is still currently in committee which means there is still time to fight it. Have you written to your local paper? Put up a sign in your yard? Hung up flyers in your town? Talked to your librarians? franklinstrong.substack.com/p/screaming-...

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is once again being threatened with removal this time from the Jordan District Library in Utah. You can add public comment here docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Maybe my favorite post + comments ever

Contacting electeds, signing petitions, writing letters, adding public comments, all of that important work can feel lonely, but you're not alone when you're doing it. Here's a thread of pictures from yesterday's rally at the Supreme Court of some of the many people who are with you in this work...

Maybe I should start writing my picture books like this...

New baby, arrived two months early and is now home after three weeks in NICU. New book, coming one month late will now be available June 3. 🧋

If there was no value in our work, why did they steal it?

If this made you mad a week or so ago and you're a Harper Collins author, please consider signing this letter @michaelleali.bsky.social put together. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

There are many different ways to defend the right to read. Hats off & a big thank you to the students who participated in walk outs to protest book banning & other encroachments on their right to an education! www.military.com/daily-news/2...

Remember when Harper Collins was the only major publisher not to sign the letter protesting the defunding of the IMLS? That sucked. Anyway if you're a Harper author, sign the letter urging them to join their colleagues and get on board. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

AABB welcomes authors who have published academic books as well! We've even got an affinity group for you. The Trump administration is attacking all aspects of the book world, so we have to mobilize together to fight back.

@slj.com asked librarians to share how the loss of IMLS funding has and will impact their library. Please take a moment to read about the real-life, real-time devastating effects of the current regime's policy decisions on public and school libraries across the country. www.slj.com/story/Cost-L...

Good news out of Iowa! Big thank you & congratulations to the advocates who worked on this! It is abundantly clear these bans are unconstitutional, but that won't stop them from trying. We need to be just as organized & just as relentless. Good job team!

Show up. Call. Protect libraries. Prevent the dismantling of the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social has created a tool and script for you to call your member of Congress. Make the time. Show up. Call. app.oneclickpolitics.com/campaign-pag...

#ProudBlue #MomSky Families & lawyers fear for the deportees who may face indefinite detention in a prison known for human rights abuses. There is absolutely NO proof they are part of Tren De Aragua. This is unjust, illegal & evil. We must keep the pressure on. www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...

"Walkouts have happened at Defense Department schools in Japan, South Korea and Germany." Kids of troops are braver than the troops www.military.com/daily-news/i...

Good news out of Colorado! A Federal judge orders Colorado district to return banned books to school libraries. Good work! www.denverpost.com/2025/03/19/e...

Have a few minutes? Send a note to your reps in support of the Institute for Museum and Library Services. See below for talking points. Thanks! Its vital for my work, my students' professional futures, and YOU

I want any Californians who are hoping that we'll be insulated from the worst of authoritarianism to look into what's been going on in Huntington Beach for the last few years.

powerful detailed account of ICE captivity "To put things into perspective: I had a Canadian passport, lawyers, resources, media attention, friends, family and even politicians advocating for me...Imagine what this system is like for every other person in there" www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

And here is a tool from @everylibrary.bsky.social to help you send an email to key members of the House & Senate. action.everylibrary.org/emaileo2025

Any South Carolinians on here? We need you to show up in force on April 1.

[School gives a child a book with a black character in it without asking the parents first.] PARENTS: "This is OUTRAGEOUS! A TOTAL violation of my parental rights!" [School inspects a child's genitals without asking the parents first.] PARENTS: "This is fine." www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/03/gop-...

If you're an author who has or will be publishing a books and you'd like to fight for the freedom to read & against book bans, we'd love to have you join Authors Against Book Bans. (OK, not the most creative name, but, you know, communicative!) All the info & the sign up form at

This Freedom to Read draft bill looks amazing. Very carefully worded to protect from bad faith attacks and there's even a "don't arrest librarians" clause. If you're in RI you could help make this an actual law and there's even a document to explain how. #booksky

Do you live in Rhode Island? We're looking for written AND in person testimony in support of their Freedom to Read bill. The hearing is tomorrow March 12 at 4PM. More info: