Norwalk Community School District Book Removal List

The Norwalk Community School District has put out a list of books to be removed at each school. It appears that teachers and librarians are being instructed to ADD to the censorship list.

This is the second list we are aware of at this time.

Annie’s Foundation Norwalk FOIA Request

Urbandale Community School District Censored Book List

Find the Google Drive containing the original list of 385 books “quarantined” by the Urbandale School District in an effort to comply with SF496 (the book banning law passed in 2023). Also includes the revised book removal list issued on August 3 with 65 books.

To be clear, “quarantined” books is a cute term for BANNED and CENSORED books. There is no other way to describe the state-mandated removal of hundreds of books from public spaces.

Annie’s Foundation Urbandale FOIA Request

Iowa Book Bans and Challenges, 1982-2022

11/24/22: This list is still a work in progress, but we wanted to share what we have gathered so far.

A comprehensive list. I think. It’s hard to keep up these days.

Where	What	Author	When	Why	Outcome
Clear Creek Amana CSD	This One Summer	Mariko Tamaki	2022	“Complete and utter garbage.”
	The BFG	Roald Dahl	1987	Too sophisticated, does not teach moral values.
	The Witches	Roald Dahl	1987	Too sophisticated, does not teach moral values.
Ankeny CSD	Gender Queer	Maia Kobabe	2021	Committee felt that the images overshadowed its message	Removed
	All Boys Aren’t Blue	George M. Johnson	2021
	Me Earl and the Dying Girl	Jesse Andrews	2021
	The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian	Sherman Alexie	2021
	And Tango Makes Three	Justin Richardson	2008	Promotes homosexuality	Retained
Ankeny Public Library	Let’s Talk About It	Erika Moen	2022	Too graphic	Retained
Atlantic CSD	A Way of Love, a Way of Life: A Young Person’s Introduction to What It Means to Be Gay	Frances Hanckel	1982	Book is a “morally corrupting force.”
Boone CSD	The Outsiders	SE Hinton	1992	Glamorizes smoking and drinking and uses excessive violence and obscenities.
Carroll CSD	Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher	Bruce Coville	1993	It was not forthright with the message it intended to represent.	Removed, and then overturned.
	What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?	Peter Hedges	2006	Concerns over oral sex scene.	Banned, then overturned by the school board after student pushback.
	Tricks	Ellen Hopkins	2022		Pulled while being reviewed.
	Sold	Patricia McCormick	2022		Pulled while being reviewed.
	Red Hood	Elana K. Arnold	2022		Pulled while being reviewed.
Cedar Falls CSD	On My Honor	Marion Dane Bauer	1989	Two swear words and one vulgarity.
Cedar Rapids CSD	Watchmen	Alan Moore
	The Band	Nicholas Eames	1998
	The Terrorist	Caroline Cooney	2000	Negative portrayal of Islam and Arabs.
	Sport		1998	Cuss words and harsh language.
	The Fear Place	Phyllis R. Naylor	1998	Objectionable language.
	The Devil in Vienna	Doris Orgel	2000	Briefly mentions an incident where a man exposes himself to a child.
	Doktor Bey’s Suicide Guidebook	Derek Pell	1986	“Could push someone over the edge.”
	Secrets of Voodoo	Milo Rigaud	1998
	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone	JK Rowling	2000	Romantic portrayal of witches, wizards, warlocks, goblins, and sorcerers.
Cedar Rapids Public Library	Forever	Judy Blume	1984	Pornographic, and explores areas God didn’t intend to explore outside of marriage.
	Through the Window		1985	Harsh realities of life depicted are not suitable for children.
Council Bluffs CSD	Hoops	Walter Dean Myers	2009	Derogatory remarks, racial slurs, sexual content.
Dallas Center Grimes CSD	Melissa	Alex Gino	2022	Main character is transgender.	Formal complaint expected.
Davenport CSD	The Elephant’s Child	Rudyard Kipling	1993	The book is “99% violent.”
	Being There	Jerzy Kosinksi	1993	Describes masturbation.
	The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn	Mark Twain	1982	A “racist novel.”
Dowling Catholic High School	I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings	Maya Angelou	1994	Explicit sex scenes.
Dubuque CSD	To Kill A Mockingbird	Harper Lee	2022	Contains racial slurs.
	Of Mice and Men	John Steinbeck	2022	Contains racial slurs.
	The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian	Sherman Alexie	2022	Contains racial slurs.
	The Perks of Being a Wallflower	Steven Chbosky	2016	Sexual activity and drug use.
Dyersville Public Library	Sari Says: The Real Dirt on Everything from Sex to School	Sari Locker	2002	Sexually explicit.
Indianola CSD	Touching Spirit Bear	Ben Mikaelsen	2021	Graphic and violent.	Retained.
	Beyond Magenta	Susan Kuklin	2021
	Looking for Alaska	John Greene	2021
	Flamer	Mike Curato	2022	Adult content; defiles and degrades human beings; promote carnal behaviors regardless of morals or ethics; destroys family and values.
	Jesus Land	Julia Scheeres	2022
	Homegoing	Yaa Gyasi
Johnston CSD	The Bluest Eye	Toni Morrison	2022
	Fun Home	Alison Bechdel	2022		Superintendent pulled the book from circulation without further review.
	The Hate U Give	Angie Thomas	2021		Formally challenged, retained.
	The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian	Sherman Alexie	2021		Formally challenged, retained.
	I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter	Erika Sanchez	2022		Parent complaint, no official challenge filed.
Keokuk CSD	The Scottsboro Boys	James Haskins	2022	Mentions alleged rape.
Linn-Mar	Tricks	Ellen Hopkins	2022	Book discusses drugging people and prostitution.	Retained.
	Traffick	Ellen Hopkins	2022	Book discusses drugging people and prostitution.	Retained.
Logan Public Library	And That’s Their Family	Kailee Coleman	2022	Books that portray LGBTQ and homosexuality in a positive manner do not belong in the children’s section.	Retained.
	Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag	Rob Sanders	2022	Books that portray LGBTQ and homosexuality in a positive manner do not belong in the children’s section.	Retained.
Orange City CSD	Thirteen Reasons Why	Jay Asher	2018	Sex, suicide.
	Buster’s Sugartime	Marc Brown		Features a lesbian couple.
Orange City Public Library	A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo	Jill Twiss	2019	Book targets pre-K children to promote a behavior that is harmful to human beings.
	Families, Families, Families!	Suzanne Lang	2019	Book targets pre-K children to promote a behavior that is harmful to human beings.
	This Day in June	Gayle E. Pitman	2019	Book targets pre-K children to promote a behavior that is harmful to human beings.
	Two Boys Kissing	David Levithan	2019	Book targets pre-K children to promote a behavior that is harmful to human beings.
	Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress	Christine Baldacchino	2019	Book targets pre-K children to promote a behavior that is harmful to human beings.
Ottumwa CSD	The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian	Sherman Alexie	2022	“Perverted, over the line, and pornographic.”	Retained.
Pella Public Library	Gender Queer	Maia Konabe	2021	“Filled with pornography.”	Retained. Complainants are pursuing further action at the city council.
Perry CSD	The Hate U Give	Angie Thomas	2022	Objection was copy and pasted from another district’s complaint.	Retained.
Southeast Valley CSD	Warriors Don’t Cry	Melba Patillo Beals	2022	Use of racially sensitive language.	Retained.
Urbandale CSD	All Boys Aren’t Blue	George Johnson	2021	Explicit and vulgar.	Retained.
	Gender Queer	Maia Kobabe	2021	Explicit and vulgar.	Retained.
	Lawn Boy	Jonathan Evison	2021	Explicit and vulgar.	Retained.
	The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian	Sherman Alexie	2021	Explicit and vulgar.	Retained.
	Hey, Kiddo	Jarrett Krosoczka	2021	Explicit language.	Retained.
Waukee CSD	Gender Queer	Maia Kobabe	2021	Sexually explicit cartoon.	Removed.
	All Boys Aren’t Blue	George Johnson	2021	Incestuous relationships, child/adult sex, promotes pedophilia.	Removed.
	Lawn Boy	Jonathan Evison	2021	LGBTQ themes.	Removed.
Waukee Public Library	Jack (Not Jackie)	Erica Silverman	2020	“Highly controversial subject and needs to be taught by the parent first, may be confusing to children, it’s a sexual topic, and it’s an adult theme.”	Retained.
West Des Moines CSD	Let’s Talk About It	Erika Moen
	This Book Is Gay	Juno Dawson
	Gender Queer	Maia Kobabe	2021		Retained.
	All Boys Aren’t Blue	George Johnson	2021		Retained.
	Speak	Laurie Halse Anderson	2021		Retained.
Williamsburg CSD	The Outsiders	S.E. Hinton	2017	Conflict, crime, death of a character, and gang fighting.	Retained.