Celebrating Banned Book Week 2025 in Philadelphia, and Beyond

Philadelphia's history is deeply connected to concept of freedom. Free speech and free thought is at the core of our founding as a haven for religious tolerance and intellectual inquiry. Obviously that freedom has not been enjoyed by all, or even offered to all. However, it is in it's potential that we celebrate moments like Banned Book Week, with the belief that stories are meant to be shared, not silenced.

At Midsummer Books we want families and young readers to have the chance to discover new worlds, perspectives, and experiences through literatures. Yet across the country and even here in Pennsylvania, the right to read freely is being tested.

What the data says about book banning

According to the American Library Association (ALA), 2024 saw 821 attempts to censor books, impacting 2,452 unique titles. While that’s slightly fewer than 2023’s record-breaking total, the trend remains deeply concerning.

Even more striking: 72% of book challenges now come from organized political groups or government officials, not individual parents or educators. Only 16% came from everyday library users.

Most of the targeted titles feature LGBTQ+ characters, people of color, or difficult historical topics, the exact stories that expand empathy and understanding and that our children so desperately need exposure to.

When books like All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson or The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas are pulled from shelves, we lose opportunities for conversation, compassion, and growth. Yes, these books can be painful to read, but imagine how painful they are to the people who don't just experience this in the pages of the books, but in their real lives? To discount those experiences and keep them separate from us intentionally is detrimental to our social and emotional growth.

Book bans hurt everyone

Book bans aren’t about protecting kids. They’re about controlling what families can access and who gets to decide what’s “acceptable.”

Here’s how censorship harms us all:

1. It limits choice. One parent’s discomfort shouldn’t dictate another family’s access to information.

2. It erases representation. Banned books overwhelmingly feature Black, brown, and LGBTQ+ characters. Silencing them tells kids their stories don’t matter.

3. It’s coordinated, not community-driven. National groups, not local parents, are driving today’s censorship wave.

4. It weakens critical thinking. Shielding children from tough topics doesn’t make the world safer, it just makes them less prepared to face it, and more likely to be intolerant to differences.

What we are doing with banned books in 2025

At Midsummer Books, we’re proud to:

• Stock banned and challenged books, and make them accessible to families who want open conversations.

• Celebrate diverse authors and voices, especially those often silenced

We're new here but we also have plans for how we can help push this converation in the future, by hosting community discussions and read ins about censorship, freedom to read, and how to support kids as critical thinkers. And by partnering with local schools and libraries to help ensure books are available and visible.

Banned book events in and around Philadelphia this week

• The Free Library of Philadelphia is participating in the national celebration of the freedom to read. Follow them on social media and check out their little Free(dom) Libraries in locations throughout the city

• Check out the Penguin Random House Banned Wagon Tour at the Northeast Regional Library: Friday, October 10th and Parkway Central Library and Saturday, October 11th, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM in Shakespeare Park. The Banned Wagon will be giving out free copies of banned and challenged books.

• Participate in Let Freedom Read day: there are a number of actions and activites you can do to help defend books from censorship and to stand up for the library staff, educators, writers, publishers, and booksellers who make them available!

  Follow on social media by using the hashtags #LetFreedomReadDay and #BannedBooksWeek!

What else you can do:

Engage in Your Community: Participate in Banned Books Week events in Philadelphia to raise awareness and defend the right to read.

Donate: Consider donating banned books to libraries, Little Free Libraries, or other community initiatives.

Together, we can ensure every child has the freedom to find the book that changes their life.