Banned Books

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is proposing a library rule about age-appropriate reading materials and events that could affect state funding to public libraries if they don’t comply.

The visits from law enforcement didn’t result in any actions, but they highlight the potential stakes of Missouri’s new law criminalizing certain books in schools.

Two students in the district, which covers 90 square miles of St. Charles County, had sued over the policy, saying it violated their First Amendment rights.

Parents and lawmakers across the nation are pushing to ban books in schools. Many of the challenged books are by Black or LGBTQ authors. St. Louis-area students are determined to read banned materials to better understand Black history.

Are there books that contain ideas so crucial to understanding the world that it's actually dangerous not to read them? KCUR reached out to Kansas City's biggest book-readers and change-makers to find out what titles they'd put on such a list. Here's what they said.