# Banned books in Pennsylvania schools

**57** titles reported as banned, removed, or formally challenged by at least one Pennsylvania public-school district. This is a state-aggregated view — the specific district and policy vary per title. Sourced from PEN America's Index of School Book Bans and the American Library Association (ALA) most-challenged list.

**State:** Pennsylvania  ·  **Reported titles:** 57
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/banned-books/pennsylvania
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.
**Primary source — PEN America:** https://pen.org/banned-book-list/
**Primary source — ALA most-challenged:** https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks
**Pennsylvania Department of Education:** https://www.education.pa.gov/

## Books reported as banned or challenged in Pennsylvania schools

- [1984](https://readinglist.school/book/1984) by George Orwell _(1090L · Grades 9–12 · pub 1949)_
- [A Boy Called Bat](https://readinglist.school/book/a-boy-called-bat) by Elana K. Arnold _(Grades 3–5 · pub 2017)_
- [Amal Unbound](https://readinglist.school/book/amal-unbound) by Aisha Saeed _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2018)_
- [As Brave As You](https://readinglist.school/book/as-brave-as-you) by Jason Reynolds _(Grades 4–7 · pub 2017)_
- [Before the Ever After](https://readinglist.school/book/before-the-ever-after) by Jacqueline Woodson _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2024)_
- [Beloved](https://readinglist.school/book/beloved) by Toni Morrison _(870L · Grades 11–12 · pub 1987)_
- [Brave New World](https://readinglist.school/book/brave-new-world) by Aldous Huxley _(870L · Grades 11–12 · pub 1932)_
- [Brown Girl Dreaming](https://readinglist.school/book/brown-girl-dreaming) by Jacqueline Woodson _(990L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2014)_
- [Clap When You Land](https://readinglist.school/book/clap-when-you-land) by Elizabeth Acevedo _(Grades 3–10 · pub 2020)_
- [Dear Martin](https://readinglist.school/book/dear-martin) by Nic Stone _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2018)_
- [Front Desk](https://readinglist.school/book/front-desk) by Kelly Yang _(640L · Grades 3–7 · pub 2018)_
- [Fry Bread](https://readinglist.school/book/fry-bread) by Kevin Noble Maillard _(Grades K–3 · pub 2019)_
- [Fry Bread](https://readinglist.school/book/fry-bread-a-native-american-family-story) by Kevin Noble Maillard _(Grades K–3 · pub 2019)_
- [Gabi, a Girl in Pieces](https://readinglist.school/book/gabi-a-girl-in-pieces) by Isabel Quintero _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2014)_
- [Ghost](https://readinglist.school/book/ghost) by Jason Reynolds _(730L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2016)_
- [Ghost Boys](https://readinglist.school/book/ghost-boys) by Jewell Parker Rhodes _(360L · Grades 4–7 · pub 2018)_
- [Hold Still](https://readinglist.school/book/hold-still) by Nina LaCour _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2009)_
- [I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings](https://readinglist.school/book/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings) by Maya Angelou _(1070L · Grades 10–12 · pub 1969)_
- [I'll Give You the Sun](https://readinglist.school/book/ill-give-you-the-sun) by Jandy Nelson _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2014)_
- [Knock Knock](https://readinglist.school/book/knock-knock) by Daniel Beaty _(Grades K–3 · pub 2013)_
- [Last Night at the Telegraph Club](https://readinglist.school/book/last-night-at-the-telegraph-club) by Malinda Lo _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2021)_
- [Look Both Ways](https://readinglist.school/book/look-both-ways) by Jason Reynolds _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2019)_
- [Looking for Alaska](https://readinglist.school/book/looking-for-alaska) by John Green _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2005)_
- [Lucky Broken Girl](https://readinglist.school/book/lucky-broken-girl) by Ruth Behar _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2017)_
- [Marvelous Cornelius](https://readinglist.school/book/marvelous-cornelius) by Phil Bildner _(Grades K–5 · pub 2015)_
- [Mockingjay (Deluxe Edition) (Hunger Games, Book Three)](https://readinglist.school/book/mockingjay) by Suzanne Collins _(Grades 5–12 · pub 2025)_
- [Nelson Mandela](https://readinglist.school/book/nelson-mandela) by Kadir Nelson _(Grades K–5 · pub 2019)_
- [New Kid](https://readinglist.school/book/new-kid) by Jerry Craft _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2019)_
- [Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood](https://readinglist.school/book/persepolis) by Marjane Satrapi _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2000)_
- [Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet](https://readinglist.school/book/planet-omar-accidental-trouble-magnet) by Zanib Mian _(820L · Grades 3–6 · pub 2019)_
- [Radiant Child](https://readinglist.school/book/radiant-child) by Javaka Steptoe _(Grades 2–5 · pub 2016)_
- [Radiant Child](https://readinglist.school/book/radiant-child-the-story-of-young-artist-jean-michel-basquiat) by Javaka Steptoe _(Grades K–5 · pub 2016)_
- [Rap a Tap Tap](https://readinglist.school/book/rap-a-tap-tap-heres-bojangles) by Leo Dillon _(Grades K–5 · pub 2002)_
- [Refugee](https://readinglist.school/book/refugee) by Alan Gratz _(800L · Grades 5–9 · pub 2017)_
- [Separate Is Never Equal](https://readinglist.school/book/separate-is-never-equal-sylvia-mendez-and-her-familys-fight-for-desegregation) by Duncan Tonatiuh _(Grades K–5 · pub 2014)_
- [Speak](https://readinglist.school/book/speak) by Laurie Halse Anderson _(690L · Grades 8–10 · pub 1999)_
- [Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You](https://readinglist.school/book/stamped-racism-antiracism-and-you) by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi _(1000L · Grades 7–12 · pub 2020)_
- [Stella Díaz Has Something to Say](https://readinglist.school/book/stella-diaz-has-something-to-say) by Angela Dominguez _(Grades 3–8 · pub 2018)_
- [The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian](https://readinglist.school/book/the-absolutely-true-diary-of-a-part-time-indian) by Sherman Alexie _(600L · Grades 7–10 · pub 2007)_
- [The Adventures of Captain Underpants](https://readinglist.school/book/the-adventures-of-captain-underpants) by Dav Pilkey _(720L · Grades 2–5 · pub 1997)_
- [The Bluest Eye](https://readinglist.school/book/the-bluest-eye) by Toni Morrison _(920L · Grades 11–12 · pub 1970)_
- [The Carnival at Bray](https://readinglist.school/book/the-carnival-at-bray) by Jessie Ann Foley _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2014)_
- [The Color Purple](https://readinglist.school/book/the-color-purple) by Alice Walker _(670L · Grades 9–12 · pub 1982)_
- [The Hate U Give](https://readinglist.school/book/the-hate-u-give) by Angie Thomas _(590L · Grades 9–12 · pub 2017)_
- [The Hunger Games](https://readinglist.school/book/the-hunger-games) by Suzanne Collins _(810L · Grades 6–9 · pub 2008)_
- [The Kite Runner](https://readinglist.school/book/the-kite-runner) by Khaled Hosseini _(840L · Grades 10–12 · pub 2003)_
- [The Miseducation of Cameron Post](https://readinglist.school/book/the-miseducation-of-cameron-post) by Emily Danforth _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2017)_
- [The Parker Inheritance](https://readinglist.school/book/the-parker-inheritance) by Varian Johnson _(610L · Grades 6–8 · pub 2018)_
- [The Perks of Being a Wallflower](https://readinglist.school/book/the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower) by Stephen Chbosky _(720L · Grades 9–12 · pub 1999)_
- [The Poet X](https://readinglist.school/book/the-poet-x) by Elizabeth Acevedo _(800L · Grades 8–12 · pub 2018)_
- [The Undefeated](https://readinglist.school/book/the-undefeated) by Kwame Alexander _(Grades 2–6 · pub 2019)_
- [To Kill a Mockingbird](https://readinglist.school/book/to-kill-a-mockingbird) by Harper Lee _(870L · Grades 7–10 · pub 1960)_
- [Trombone Shorty](https://readinglist.school/book/trombone-shorty) by Troy Andrews _(Grades K–3 · pub 2015)_
- [Two Degrees](https://readinglist.school/book/two-degrees) by Alan Gratz _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2022)_
- [Vessel](https://readinglist.school/book/vessel) by Sarah Beth Durst _(Grades 5–12 · pub 2013)_
- [We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga](https://readinglist.school/book/we-are-grateful-otsaliheliga) by Traci Sorell _(Grades 3–10 · pub 2018)_
- [When Stars Are Scattered](https://readinglist.school/book/when-stars-are-scattered) by Victoria Jamieson _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2020)_

## How book challenges work in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has 57 titles on file as banned, restricted, or formally challenged by at least one Pennsylvania public-school district in the public sources ReadingList aggregates from (PEN America's Index of School Book Bans and the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom most-challenged list). These tracked numbers represent FORMAL challenges that reached district board minutes, ALA OIF reporting, or PEN America's quarterly index — quieter classroom-level removals that never reached those national trackers are not captured here, so the actual scope of restriction in Pennsylvania is plausibly larger than this list reflects.

Book challenges in Pennsylvania typically follow a layered process: a parent, board member, or community member files a written request for reconsideration of an assigned title with a specific school or district; the district convenes a review committee (usually comprising teachers, librarians, administrators, and sometimes parent representatives); the committee reads the book, evaluates it against the district's selection criteria and against Pennsylvania ELA standards, holds at least one public comment session, and votes to retain, restrict (e.g., grade-level limits or parental consent), or remove the title from the approved curriculum. Decisions are typically appealable to the state board of education within a defined window.

Common challenge bases across the 57 Pennsylvania titles tracked here mirror the national pattern: sexual content (most common), LGBTQ+ themes, race and racism, profanity or violence, religion and political content, and depictions of substance abuse. Tracked titles include: 1984; A Boy Called Bat; Amal Unbound. Each title's detail page lists the specific Pennsylvania district that initiated the challenge, the date, and (when published) the formal challenge basis recorded in district minutes. For deeper context on national patterns, the linked PEN America and ALA pages publish quarterly and annual reports.

For parents, teachers, librarians, and students in Pennsylvania navigating this landscape: the practical paths forward depend on role. Parents who object to a specific assigned title can typically request an alternative assignment from the teacher directly without initiating a formal challenge — most Pennsylvania districts have informal opt-out paths well before the formal reconsideration process kicks in. Librarians and teachers facing pressure to remove a title can document the formal selection criteria the book met, gather student-reader testimonials (with FERPA-compliant consent), and align with the National Coalition Against Censorship for advisory support. Students directly affected by a book removal can speak at the school board meeting where the decision is reviewed — public comment is open to all Pennsylvania district residents. Pennsylvania's Department of Education publishes the formal procedural framework — the source link is in the sources block above.

---

_Aggregated from PEN America + ALA public reporting. A statewide ban is rare; most removals are at the district or individual-school level, and many challenged titles remain available elsewhere in the state. HTML view: https://readinglist.school/banned-books/pennsylvania._