September 22-28, 2024 is Banned Books Week, an initiative to bring communities together to fight for the freedom to read. In the United States alone, over 10,000 books have been banned over the past school year. That’s 10,000 too many! We wanted to recognize this event, and help make change by doing our best to give back your right to read.
So, to help combat banning books everywhere, here are our top banned books for 2024. These are all books that we have read and loved, and we encourage you to read them as well.
*Remember to ask your parents before reading anything on our list! We try our best to be age appropriate and inclusive with our picks.

Grades K-2

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
In Our Mothers’ House by Patricia Palacco
This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman
The Name Jar by Yansook Choi
I Am Jazz by Jazz Jennings

Grades 3-5

Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
A Light in The Attic by Shel Silverstein
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Melissa by Alex Gino

Grades 6-8

Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
Animal Farm by George Orwell
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Agony of Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Where The Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson

Grades 9-12

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
A Raisin in The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Peréz
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

You can get involved with Banned Books Week by attending a Banned Book Wagon event in your area, taking action on Let Freedom Read Day (Sept. 28), asking your school librarian for more information about book banning, or joining Unite Against Book Bans, along with so many other initiatives online.

Happy reading!
Love, the Book Twins,
Neerja and Nidhi