DES MOINES, Iowa — A push against book bans across the country is set to make its first stop in Central Iowa on Sunday.
Beaverdale Books is the first stop on the “Banned Wagon Tour.”
Penguin Random House, a book publishing company, will be parking their van in front of the store and handing out free books that are challenged most frequently.
“I think the other sad thing is that a lot of people that are making the challenges haven’t read the entire book,” Jan Kaiser the marketing and events coordinator of Beaverdale Books said. “We’ve heard that, that happens a lot. They zero down on one statement or one sentence or one page and when you look at the entire book and the experience that the reader gains, I think it’s just, I think it’s sad.”
They’ll also be educating Iowans on the new law that the company is currently fighting in court. Iowa’s law bans books with sexually explicit content from public school libraries.
There was a temporary block on the book ban last school year but a federal judge recently lifted the injunction and allowed the law to take effect.
The banned wagon tour will also make another eight stops around the country before wrapping up the tour on October 15th.
“The Banned Wagon is visiting communities with a high volume of book bans and challenges,” written on the Banned Wagon Tour’s website. “In addition to independent bookstores, this year’s route includes libraries in response to the alarming 92% increase in books targeted for censorship at public libraries in 2023, according to the American Library Association (ALA).”
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