What if Pi Were Censored?
On Pi Day, math lovers celebrate a number that never ends: π. Its digits go on forever—3.1415926535…—a reminder that discovery and knowledge don’t have limits. Every new digit reveals something more about the world around us. Stories and books offer that same sense of discovery—each one adding another layer of understanding and another opportunity to see beyond our own experience.
But book bans try to do the opposite. They attempt to put an artificial stopping point on curiosity—deciding which stories are acceptable and which perspectives should be removed from shelves. Many of the books most frequently challenged today are the very ones that help readers explore complex realities and build empathy: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, and All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson, among many others. These books don’t limit understanding—they expand it.
At Annie’s Foundation, we believe knowledge should be as boundless as π. That’s why we continue working to keep diverse books in the hands of readers across Iowa. Because when stories remain accessible, curiosity keeps growing—and our collective understanding continues to expand, digit by digit, story by story.
