When books are removed, we put them back in readers’ hands.
Annie’s Foundation is an Iowa-based nonprofit protecting access to diverse books, supporting readers, and pushing back against censorship in schools and libraries.
You’re here because books are under attack.
Across Iowa and the country, legislation, organized challenges, and political pressure campaigns are removing books from schools and public libraries.
We exist to push back — and to make sure access doesn’t disappear quietly.
Annie’s Foundation began as a small group of moms responding to book removals in their kids’ schools.
Today, we are a nine-member board — including parents, community advocates, and a college student — working across Iowa to protect access to books and ideas.
More than 21,000 free books have reached readers across Iowa — and we’re just getting started.
Our Mission
To ensure members of our community have unhindered access to books with characters and subjects that reflect the diversity and complexity of the world around them.
Action Plan
- We respond when books are challenged or removed.
- We distribute banned, challenged and diverse books to students, families, and community members.
- We track legislation and organized efforts restricting access to books.
- We support communities navigating school and library challenges.
- We partner with students, parents, librarians, and advocates across Iowa.
Book Wishlist
Don’t want to make a monetary donation? Consider donating a book instead!
We’ve partnered with Storyhouse Bookpub, a local, woman-owned bookstore, to offer a Wish List. You can purchase a book from their website on Bookshop.org and the books will be shipped directly to Annie’s Foundation! Your purchase gets banned and challenged books in the hands of your community while also supporting a small, locally-owned business.
All Boy's Aren't Blue
By George M. Johnson
All Boys Aren't Blue is a 2020 memoir and manifesto by George M. Johnson that is structured as a series of essays and letters. It is a firsthand account of Johnson's experiences growing up Black and queer in Plainsfield, New Jersey and Virginia, and how these experiences have shaped their identity.
And Tango Makes Three
By Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell
This book tells the story of two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who create a family together. With the help of the zookeeper, Mr. Gramsay, Roy and Silo are given an egg which they help hatch.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
By Maya Angelou
The book is a coming-of-age story that details Angelou's experiences as an African American girl in the segregated South, including racism, sexual abuse, and the challenges of growing up during a tumultuous time in American history.
Neither
By Arlie Anderson
While half the world is made up of birds and the other half rabbits, “Neither” is a creative mixture of both. But instead of being embraced, Neither is cast away from the “Land of This and That” for not looking like the others.
Nivhil Out Loud
By Maulik Pancholy
This is a coming-of-age story. Nikhil is cast in the lead role in the school musical and comes out as gay to a newspaper reporter (interviewing him about his role). With permission, the reporter prints Nikhil's sexuality in the story. Nikhil faces various reactions from friends and family.
The Bluest Eye
By Toni Morrison
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison is a 1970 novel that tells the story of Pecola Breedlove, a young African American girl who grows up in Lorain, Ohio during the Great Depression. The novel explores themes of race, class, and beauty standards.
The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School
By Sonora Reyes
A young adult novel about a queer Mexican American girl named Yamilet Flores who attends a mostly white, wealthy Catholic high school. Yamilet's crush on Bo, along with her ex-best friend outing her, tests her resolve to stay in the closet.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
By Zora Neale Hurston
Their Eyes Were Watching God tells the story of Janie Crawford, a Black woman in the rural American South who grows from a teenager into a woman who finds her own voice and destiny. The novel explores themes of love, independence, identity, power, inequality, and the importance of having a voice.Book bans are political decisions.
In Iowa, efforts to restrict books are tied to legislation, school policy, and coordinated challenges connected to the broader “parents’ rights” movement and similar advocacy networks.
Books most frequently targeted include LGBTQ+ stories, books about race and civil rights, and stories centered on girls and women.
Parents have the right to guide their own children’s reading. They do not have the right to remove access for everyone else’s.
Let's Keep In Touch!
Want to keep up on our anti-censorship efforts? Go to our Events page and sign up for our emails to learn more.
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Donate Now
Help us provide copies of banned and challenged books to your community! Make your tax-deductible donation below.