Censored children's books in the twenty-first century : protection or restriction?

Abstract

Children’s books have always been heavily scrutinized for inappropriate and controversial content. Due to the growing awareness of a diverse Western society, and consequently the increase in political correctness, the children’s literary canon has been criticised for its lack of representation of minority groups. Different stakeholders insist on the importance of decolonising children’s books and giving a voice to people with intersectional identities, as in this way children from different walks of life feel seen and represented. However, the de-canonisation of children’s literature led to stakeholders of different political views to protest against the inclusion of certain books in schools and libraries. Despite holding different beliefs and morals, the common aim of sensors is to protect children from harmful and damaging information as children are perceived as impressionable and are therefore prone to internalise these controversial text and images in books. Such censorship includes the banning and rewriting of racist text as Dr. Seuss and R.L. Stine’s books and the banning or challenging of non-heteronormative representation in books written by Jennifer Jenkin, Marcus Ewert, Daniel Haack, Cory Silverberg and Neringa Dangvydė. This dissertation seeks to explore the historical and cultural context of censorship in children’s literature over the past fifteen years to understand why some of the mentioned authors’ books are regarded as controversial or inappropriate. It will also explore whether censorship serves to protect or restrict children’s access for information.