I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and pay respect to elders past and present. I would also like to recognise the importance of story and culture to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the way that they nurtured and taught their children with story passed from generation to generation.

Our thanks to those who were able to join us for our SLAV online Book Club on Wednesday September 3rd, 2025, to discuss the topic: Banned Books

Thanks to Mia from The Sun Bookshop for her list of books on this topic, including new and upcoming releases.

Our next Online Book Club meeting is on Thursday October 23rd and the topic of conversation is ‘After Dark’.

Disclaimer: The lists generated as a result of Book Club discussions are not, by any means, an exhaustive list of all titles or authors for each genre/category discussed. Nor will all titles be suitable for all libraries. We advise staff discretion when referencing these lists, to properly confirm individual title suitability for individual libraries, school and student’s needs. These are suggested titles only, shared by our members and inclusion on, or exclusion from, a list does not suggest SLAV endorsement or rejection of a title.

Some Regularly Banned/Challenged Books

To kill a mockingbird  by Harper Lee

1984 by George Orwell

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Black Boy by Richard Wright

The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett           

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Gender Queer : a Memoir by Maia Kobabe

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Harry Potter series is often not included in the Collections of some Christian schools

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne is also often challenged (and it’s authenticity questioned)

The Heartstopper series of books face challenges, particularly volumes 4 & 5.

The group had a discussion around some controversial books for school library collections:

Colleen Hoover books – some schools have them but keep them in the office and students need to request them. Students need to be in years 9 and up to have them loaned to them.

There is a poem in ‘The Sound of the Thing’ by Maxine Benebe Clarke that is good for banned book week.

Mia from Sun Bookshop supplied the following titles that are often banned or challenged:

Love makes a Family by Sophie Beer has been banned in the USA

Rainbow Street by RWR McDonald & Kelly Canby is a new picture book that celebrates diversity

The Style Secrets of Gareth McGeen by Kelly Brodie-Brown & Natasha Carty is also a new picture book that would be controversial in the USA

The Hate U Give and On The Come Up by Angie Thomas

The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke

The Welcome to .... books by Melissa Kang & Yumi Stymes

New Picture Books from Mia:

If We Were Dogs by Sophie Blackall

Hello Cocky : a Stickybeak at the cockatoo by Hilary Bell &  Antonia Presenti

Dear Broccoli by Jo Dabrowski & Cate James

New Graphic Novels from Mia:

Monkey king and the World of Myths : The Battle of the Beasts by Maple Lam

The First Cat in Space and the Wrath of the Paperclip by  Mac Barnett & Shawn Harris

New Middle Grade books from Mia:

You & Me and the Peanut butter Beast by Andy Griffiths

Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories by Jeff Kinney ( a Wimpy Kid spin off but more of a novel format)

Football School Facts : a Fact for Every Day of the Year by Alex Bellos & Ben Lyttleton

Skandar and the Spirit War by A.F. Steaman

The Making of Martha Mayfield by Jo Dabrowski

Childish by Morris Gleitzman

Runt and the Diabolical Dognapping by Craig Silvey

Millie Mak Makes Her Mark by Alice Pung

Run by Sarah Armstrong

Good Bits : Bits of Stories, Endless Fun by Kes Gray

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell

The Last Ember by Lily Berlin Dodd

New YA books from Mia:

This Season’s Draft by Jason Gent (verse novel)

The Locked Room by Adam Cece

What Have They Done to Liza McLean by Amy Doak

Fake Skating by Lynn Painter (clean YA romance)

The Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe by Karen Foxlee

A Guide to Falling Off the Map by Zanni L. Arnot

Oxford blood by Rachel Davis Featherstone (has caused some controversy overseas)

Weaving Us Together by Lay Maloney

Catch by Sarah Brill