Author: Anastasia Tsioulcas

The school district removed Junot Díaz’s novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao from the curriculum of a high-level English class at Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J., in response to a mental health crisis. Anastasia Tsioulcas/NPR hide caption toggle caption Anastasia Tsioulcas/NPR Editor’s note: This report is about suicide and suicidal ideation. The South Orange & Maplewood community in New Jersey has been through some very tough times. Schools superintendent Jason Bing says at least five young people enrolled at the public Columbia High School (CHS) have attempted to die by suicide this year. In December, one CHS…

Mychal Threets is hosting the new iteration of Reading Rainbow, which starts Saturday. Buffalo Toronto Public Media/Embassy Row hide caption toggle caption Buffalo Toronto Public Media/Embassy Row After nearly two decades, the classic kids’ show Reading Rainbow is back — with a new host and a new digital format, but with the same mission of encouraging children to “take a look, it’s in a book.” The original show, which ran for 26 years on PBS with host LeVar Burton, won more than 250 awards, including 26 Emmys and a Peabody Award. It spurred a love of reading for generations of…

These books top PEN America’s list of the books most often challenged and banned from school classrooms in the U.S. during the 2024-2025 school year. PEN America hide caption toggle caption PEN America PEN America released its list of the most-banned books of the 2024-2025 school year on Wednesday – and warned that the number of books challenged or banned in public school districts across the country has risen exponentially in the past two years. The group dedicated to free expression counted 6,870 bans during the past academic year. While that’s down from a total of 10,046 bans imposed during…