Book bans and challenges: April 20, 2026

Here's the latest news on book bans, challenges, and other literary obstacles — as well as on some successful efforts to fight back against them.

• Less than 3 percent of book challenges last year came from individual parents, while 92 percent came from groups, government officials, and other decision makers, according to the 2026 State of America’s Libraries Report; the report also identifies the eleven most frequently challenged books of 2025 (American Library Association).

• Utah recently banned four more books in all public schools: Life Is Funny by E.R. Frank, The Haters by Jesse Andrews, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, and People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins; the state now bans thirty-two books overall (Book Riot).

• Kelly Jensen debunks the claims that opponents of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library are acting out of financial concerns in the introduction to her weekly collection of book ban and challenge news (Book Riot).

• Rhode Island is considering legislation that would mandate a dedicated library and a certified school librarian in every public school (Rhode Island Current).

• And to end on a positive note: as districts across the nation ban cell phones in school, librarians are reporting increases — as big as tenfold — in reading among students (InvestigateTV).