'The ABCs of Book Banning' underscores school children being affected by book banning efforts

Even Hollywood is paying attention to book banning efforts. A new Academy Award-nominated documentary short film, “The ABCs of Book Banning,” masterfully pays tribute to the important books that have faced calls for ban across the nation. The documentary makes clear just how important those books are to readers, just how absurd the nature of book bans are, and why access to those titles is so crucial. Perhaps most importantly, “The ABCs of Book Banning” emotionally underscores exactly who's most affected by the book bans: school children. There's another voice featured prominently in “The ABCs of Book Banning” — one that members of the 'Velshi Banned Book Club' might recognize: Grace Linn. “I don’t call about the ‘Moms for Liberty’,” says Linn, “I call myself a mother of liberty.” We first learned about the 101-year-old when she gave a salient warning at a Martin County School Board meeting in Florida with a hand-made quilt featuring the covers of popular banned books. Grace Linn knows what these children don't yet understand — that limiting access to literature doesn't just cheat them of knowledge, squash their creativity, and stifle their growth. It threatens the future of their country — our country.Feb. 17, 2024