Below is a list of some of the banned nonfiction titles documented in PEN America’s latest report on book bans in public schools nationwide. Facts & Fiction: Stories Stripped Away By Book Bans reports a doubling of bans on nonfiction titles on subjects from history and health to general knowledge, including biographies and memoirs. The report shows 29% of the unique titles banned over the 2024-2025 school year were nonfiction and notes that removing books about real events or people underscores “an embrace of anti-intellectualism.”
The report gives analysis of the content of the 3,743 unique titles that were removed from school libraries and classrooms from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. Over this same period, PEN America tracked 6,780 total instances of bans across 23 states. The books listed below are examples of banned titles; they are not a ranking.
Young Adult
- Ancient Greek Art and Architecture, by Don Nardo
- Boy v. Girl?: How Gender Shapes Who We Are, What We Want, and How We Get Along, by George Abrahams and Sheila Ahlbrand
- Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching: A Young Black Man’s Education, by Mychal Denzel Smith
- Laughing at My Nightmare, by Shane Burcaw
- Male Privilege, by Duchess Harris and Heidi Deal
- North American Art to 1900, by Arlene Pancza-Graham
Picture Books
- J is for Justice! An Activism Alphabet, by Veronica I. Arreola and Illustrated by Maria Diaz Perera
- If You’re a Kid Like Gavin: The True Story of a Young Trans Activist, by Gavin Grimm and Kyle Lukoff, Illustrated by J. Yang
- Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution!: The Story of the Trans Women of Color Who Made LGBTQ+ History, by Joy Michael Ellison and illustrated by Teshika Silver
- What Are Your Words: A Book About Pronouns, by Katherine Locke and illustrated by Andy Passchier
- Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race, by Megan Madison
- Desert Queen, by Jyoti Rajan Gopal and illustrated by Svabhu Kohli
Read an interview with Our Skin author Megan Madison.
Chapter Books
- Who Was Harvey Milk? by Corinne Grinapol and illustrated by Greg Copeland
- What Is Black Lives Matter? by Lakita Wilson and illustrated by Greg Copeland
- What Was Stonewall? by Nico Medina and illustrated by Jake Murray
- Growing Up LGBTQ, by Duchess Harris and Rebecca Rowell
Middle Grade Books
- Amelia Earhart: Legendary Aviator, by Jameson Anderson, Illustrated by Charles Barnett III and Rod Whigham
- Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter, by Veronica Chambers
- Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson
- Mosque, by David Macauley
- Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You, by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
- The Antiracist Kid: A Book About Identity, Justice, and Activism, by Tiffany Jewell and illustrated by Nicole Miles
- The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science, by Joyce Sidman
- Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy (Young Readers Edition), by Emmanuel Acho
- We Were There Too! Young People in US History,, by Phillip M. Hoose
- Skeleton: Discover the Evolution, Structure, and Functions of Bones by Steve Parker.
- Medieval Life by Andrew Langley.
- Insect by Larry Mound
- Costume by L. Rowland-Warne
