What happens when children stop seeing themselves and each other in books they read?
Diverse representation in children and young adult literature has never been more important. When young readers have access to books featuring cultures and experiences different from their own, they are introduced to a world larger than the one they know.
PEN America, a non-profit organization which advocates for free expression, recorded 6,870 instances of schoolbook bans during the 2024-2025 school year, affecting 3,752 unique titles. The organization defines a schoolbook ban as an action that removes a previously accessible book, restricts, or diminishes students’ access to it.
PEN America’s research also found that books addressing race and racism, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ people and topics have been among the subjects targeted by censorship efforts.
The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom documented another concerning trend. In 2025, the organization recorded 4,235 unique titles challenged in libraries, the second highest number ever recorded by ALA. Of those titles, 1,671 represented experiences featuring people of color and LGBTQIA+ people.
These numbers represent more than statistics. Every challenged or restricted book represents a story that may become harder for a young person to access.
When those opportunities disappear, we should ask what our communities are losing.
Parents, educators, librarians, and community members all have a role to play in preventing these losses.
The goal should be to make sure children and young adults have opportunities to choose from books that reflect the diversity of the communities and world around them.
But what can we do about this?
We can visit our local public or school library and ask about books by diverse authors and books featuring different cultures and experiences.
We can participate in literacy and intellectual freedom events like Banned Books Week, which took place Oct. 4-10.
We can also take the fight to the people who make decisions. Attend school board or library board meetings, learn about our community’s collection policies, and speak up when decisions about access to books are being considered.
A diverse collection does not mean every reader will connect with every book. It means readers have choices.
Children deserve opportunities to find characters who look like them, families that resemble their own, and experiences that make them feel seen. They also deserve opportunities to discover lives and perspectives that are unfamiliar.
Books cannot solve every problem, but they can start conversations. They can encourage curiosity. They can help young readers imagine lives beyond their own experiences.
If we want children to grow into adults who understand and respect people from different backgrounds, we should give them opportunities to encounter those differences, not hide them.
The question is not simply whether we are losing books.
The question is whether, by limiting access to diverse stories, we are also losing opportunities to understand one another.
Denise Pearson a Lamar University graduate student