How Knox County Schools Decided Which Books to Remove from Libraries

On By Littum

Deciding what children should or should not read is not an easy task. ONE Tennessee law changed the landscape and made these decisions even more difficult.

Knox County Schools librarians and administrators sorted through the thousands of titles on their shelves to comply with the law that prohibits materials deemed age-inappropriate from school library collections. The law does not define many details, leaving administrators to struggle with its interpretation.

In the end, they pulled 48 titles from the schools.

“We just got back together to try to apply the law as best we understand it at the moment to see if we agreed with what was identified,” Assistant Chief Medical Officer for Academics Keith Wilson told Knox News.

The approach was neither conservative nor liberal. It was simply an interpretation – as best as possible – of the law.

How Knox County Schools Sorted Through Its Books

Tennessee’s Age Appropriate Materials Act of 2022 came amid a nationwide trend to restrict or remove books from libraries deemed inappropriate for children.

The 2022 law, approved 73-21 along partisan linesrequires each public school library to publish the list of materials in its collections and periodically review them to ensure that they are “appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students who may access the materials.”

An amendment to the law was adopted last spring becomes more specific to prohibit “nudity or descriptions or depictions of sexual arousal, sexual behavior, excessive violence or sadomasochistic abuse.”

When teachers returned from summer break, Knox County Schools Academic Resource Supervisor Sarah Searles and Wilson held a training session for all librarians on the new law.

Those professional development sessions led to an initial list of books to consider, Wilson said.

Using this list as a guide, librarians went back to their school collections to begin the process. A further eight books were marked in the second round.

With the expanded number of titles, Wilson, Searles and Erin Phillips, KCS’ executive director of learning and literacy, reviewed it once more. Only educators, not lawyers, were involved, Wilson said.

“This is our first attempt,” he said. “We will continue to review these reviews as librarians continue to identify titles over time.

“Our superintendent says a lot of times that we always reserve the right to get smarter, so the more titles you look at and you start looking at things in comparison, it starts to help you establish a standard.”

Some seemingly benign children’s books like “Draw me a Star” by Eric Carle were removed. The book has an artistic interpretation of Adam and Eve in the nude.

The group’s approach was the same regardless of grade level or content, Wilson said. Was anything in the book against the law? If it did, it was set aside.

Knox County removed fewer books than some other districts in the state, but more than some others. Wilson County Schools in Middle Tennessee removed about 425 books. Metro Nashville Public Schools and Anderson County Schools did not remove anyone.

What happens to banned books?

Since the process is new, administrators and librarians are working through their interpretation of the law. Knox County Schools is not getting rid of the books it pulled from its shelves, Wilson said. They simply put them in storage.

“We are asking our librarians to remove them from student access … and mark them as ‘inactive’ in their online catalogs,” Wilson said. “Because it’s a new law, because it’s very early in the process, we don’t know what might change.”

If the law changes in the future, they will be ready.

“We want to treat these assets with respect and so we will keep them at the school out of student access until such time as we have further guidance,” he said.

What about books in classroom libraries?

There are other points of interpretation in the law. It mentions school libraries but not classrooms, and it excludes course syllabi.

“The law does not apply to curriculum,” Wilson said.

KCS treats classroom libraries the same way it has decided to treat school libraries. The district has asked classroom teachers to examine their collections as well.

“If a teacher has the same novels or titles in a classroom library, the same rule would apply,” Wilson said.

If the books are a teacher’s private property, “they are free to do with it whatever they choose,” he said, but the district would discourage teachers from purchasing the 48 books that have been deemed inappropriate.

What about anatomy books or religious texts that mention nudity?

Just as when Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said “I know it when I see it” when asked to describe obscene material, librarians can imagine the intent of lawmakers. But what about health books on human anatomy? What about religious texts that describe sexual acts? The law does not make express exceptions.

“To be determined,” said Wilson. “We didn’t have too many of them on the initial list,” he added.

The review committee considered a few history texts with images of archaeological artifacts and sculptures to see if it is considered nudity in the context in which it was published.

It was one the district talked about a lot, Wilson said, and those are titles the district could consider for future reviews.

What books were taken from Knox County Schools?

Here are the books that were removed:

Books removed from elementary schools

  • “There’s Going To Be A Baby” by John Burningham
  • “Draw Me A Star” by Eric Carle
  • “In A Glass Grimly” by Adam Gidwitz
  • “In The Night Kitchen” by Maurice Sendak
  • “A Light in the Attic” by Shel Silverstein
  • “The Way We Work” by David Macaulay

Books removed from middle schools

  • “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie
  • “13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher
  • “Just Listen” by Sarah Dessen
  • “Attack on Titan Vol. 2” by Hajime Isayama
  • “Mrs. Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children – Graphic Novel” by Ransom Riggs
  • “You: The Owner’s Manual for Teens” by Michael F. Roizen
  • “The 57 Bus” by Dashka Slater
  • “Everything, Everything” by Nicola Yoo

Books removed from colleges

  • “Me, Earl, & The Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews
  • “Go Ask Alice” by Anonymous
  • “Chopsticks” by Jessica Anthony
  • “Girls on the Verge” by Sharon Biggs Waller
  • “Perks of Being A Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky
  • “A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Duggar
  • “The Carnival of Bray” by unknown author
  • “Lighter Than My Shadow” by Katie Green
  • “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen
  • “Locke and Key: Alpha & Omega” by Joe Hill
  • “Locke and Key: Clockworks” by Joe Hill
  • “Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft” by Joe Hill
  • “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins
  • “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins
  • “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini
  • “Grown” by Tiffany D. Jackson
  • “DUFF” by Kody Keplinger
  • “The Walking Dead: Book Ten” by Robert Kirkman
  • “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe
  • “Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood” by Marjorie Liu
  • “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo
  • “Empire of Storms” by Sarah J. Maas
  • “Tower of Dawn” by Sarah J. Maas
  • “Wicked” by Gregory Maguire
  • “Sold” by Patricia McCormick
  • “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison
  • “Skin” by Ted Dekker
  • “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Pérez
  • “Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock” by Matthew Quick
  • “Beautiful” by Stacy A. McGillen
  • “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” by Erika L. Sánchez
  • “Blankets” by Craig Thompson
  • “Squad” by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
  • “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut

Five of those books — “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins, “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, “Sold” by Patricia McCormick, “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins, “Empire of Storms” by Sarah J. Maas — were among the 11 most banned books nationwide in the 2022-23 school year.

Books that were reviewed but not removed

Aside from the 48 books that were removed, the district considered 67 other titles for various reasons, but ultimately chose to keep them. They are:

  • “A Sterkarm Kiss” by Susan Price
  • “A Tale Dark and Grimm” by Adam Gidwitz
  • “Achilles and the Trojan War” by David Ferrel
  • “Adventures in Ancient Egypt” by Linda Bailey
  • “Al Capone Does My Shirts” by Gennifer Choldenko
  • “Alice the Fairy” by David Shannon
  • “Ancient Egypt” by Lauren Hart
  • “Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin Alire Sanchez
  • “Attack on Titan Vol. 1” by Hajime Isayama
  • “Beloved” by Toni Morrison
  • “Beyond Magenta” by Susan Kuklin
  • “Blue, Barry, and Pancakes: Escape from Balloonia” by Jason Michael
  • “Bubba & Beau: Meet the Relatives” by Kathi Appelt
  • “Burned” by Ellen Hopkins
  • “Buts Are Everywhere” by Jonathan Stultzman
  • “Can’t Take That Away” by Steven Salvatore
  • “Carrimebac: The Town That Walked” by David Barclay Moore
  • “Champion” by Marie Lu
  • “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins
  • “Crown of Midnight” by Sarah J. Maas
  • “Dreamers” by Yuyi Morales
  • “Dreamfall” by Amy Plum
  • “Eyewitness Books: Archaeology” by Jane McIntosh
  • “Fade” by Lisa McMann
  • “Fable” by Adrienne Young
  • “Falling Up” by Shel Silverstein
  • “Glass” by Ellen Hopkins
  • “Graceling” by Kristin Cashore
  • “Hold Me Tight” by Lorie Ann Grover
  • “I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More” by Karen Beaumont
  • “I Survived the Nazi Invasion (Graphic Adaptation)” by Lauren Tarshis
  • “Iggy Peck, Architect” by Andrea Beaty
  • “It’s Christmas, David” by David Shannon
  • “It’s Hard to Be Five” by Jamie Lee Curtis
  • “Juliet of the Wolves” by Jean Craighead George
  • “King Dork” by Frank Portman
  • “Long Way Down: Graphic Novel” by Jason Reynolds
  • “Mama Panya’s Pancakes” by Mary Chamberlain
  • “Mike Fink” by Dan Kellogg and Steven Kellogg
  • “Monday’s Not Coming” by Tiffany Jackson
  • “More Bones” by Arielle North Norton and Olson
  • “Moxie” by Jennifer Mathieu
  • “My Friend Dahmer” by Derf Backderf
  • “No, David!” by David Shannon
  • “Outside Over There” by Maurice Sendak
  • “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi
  • “Perfect” by Ellen Hopkins
  • “Pinkalicious” by Victoria Kann and Steven Kann
  • “Point of Retreat” by Colleen Hoover
  • “Push” by Sapphire
  • “Queen of Shadows” by Sarah J. Maas
  • “Shine” by Lauren Myracle
  • “Shiver” by Maggie Stiefvater
  • “Sonya Sones” by What My Mother Doesn’t Know
  • “The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby” by Dav Pilkey
  • “The Color of Home” by Mary Hoffman
  • “The First Last Part” by Angela Johnson
  • “The Greeks: Life in Ancient Greece” by Michelle Levine
  • “The Rains” by Gregg Hurwitz
  • “The Summoning” by Hillary Monahan
  • “Things in the Cellar” by Ben Hatke
  • “This One Summer” by Jillian Tamaki
  • “Thunder Rose” by Kadir Nelson
  • “Tunnels of Blood” by Darren Shan
  • “We Are The Ants” by Shaun David Hutchison
  • “Wings of Fire #1” by Tui Sutherland
  • “Zombies in Love 2+1” by Kelly DiPucchio

Increasing nationwide trend towards book bans

Book bans nearly tripled during the 2023-2024 school year with more than 10,000 books banned in public schools, according to a recent report. The increase reflects a renewed effort since 2021 to ban or restrict books in the United States

Moms For Liberty, a right-wing political activist group, has been one powerful crusaders in the parental rights movement with a strong focus on limiting access to books with sexual content.

The advocacy group submitted online that “age appropriateness is not prohibited”,

The review website BookLooks.org is frequently cited by groups pushing to remove titles from school and public libraries. The bans often target books with LGBTQ+ characters or sexual descriptions, according to researchers, library experts and a USA TODAY analysis of book ban attempts.

PEN Americaa nonprofit organization that fights for free speech and tracks book bans across the country found that Florida was the state with most book bans during the 2023-2024 school year, followed by Iowa.

USA TODAY and The Tennessean contributed to this story.

Areena Aroradata and investigative reporter for Knox News, can be reached by email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @AreenaArora and on Instagram @areena_nyheder.