14 Banned Book-Themed Gifts for the Reader in Your Life (and You)
that Help PEN America Fight Book Bans
If ever there was a time to wear your values on your sleeve – or tote bag, or hat – this is it. With more than 10,000 book bans in U.S. schools in the 2023-2024 school year, the book banning crisis is dire and worsening. State after state has passed legislation to restrict what children can read, and conservative policymakers hope to turn similar restrictions into federal law. But we won’t give up fighting for books – and neither will you. Check out these gift ideas for the banned book reader in your life.
PEN America x Lingua Franca = ‘I Read Banned Books’ Sweater
PEN America partnered with Lingua Franca—a line of sustainably-sourced, fair-trade, luxury cashmere sweaters, all hand-stitched by women in New York City—for these covetable sweaters that show your support for the freedom to read. Ten percent of profits go to PEN America.
Art Spiegelman for PEN America T-Shirt
Art Spiegelman, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus, designed this T-shirt to benefit PEN America’s fight against book bans. Spiegelman’s Holocaust memoir has been banned from several school districts, including two in Iowa in the 2023-2024 school year.
Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult
Nineteen Minutes, which follows the unfolding of a school shooting, was the most frequently banned book in the country in the 2023-2024 school year. Author Jodi Picoult says hundreds of children have told her the book stopped them from committing a school shooting, because it showed them they were not alone. “The book did not harm them. It gave them tools to deal with an increasingly divided and different world. That is what books do. They help kids see themselves in a different way. They help kids see the world in a different way.”
Mike Curato for PEN America T-Shirt
Mike Curato, author and illustrator of the frequently banned middle grade graphic novel Flamer, created this design to benefit PEN America’s advocacy for books. Also available in black, and on a canvas tote!
PEN America Membership
PEN America Membership is the perfect gift for the writer, reader, or free speech champion in your life. Your support helps PEN America fight book bans, joining an international community of authors, journalists, translators, and supporters who promote, defend, and celebrate the freedom to write.
For Future Readers: Todd Parr for PEN America Onesie
For the littlest readers, this Todd Parr onesie celebrates the joy of reading. Parr’s books It’s Okay to Be Different and The Family Book were banned in six school districts in the 2023-2024 school year. Also available in (non-onesie) adult sizes.
Bibliophile Banned Books 500-Piece Puzzle
This banned book puzzle features art from Jane Mount, the brilliant brain behind the Bibliophile series, and comes with a reading checklist and information from PEN America on how to fight book bans. A portion of the proceeds benefit PEN America.
Best Debut Short Stories 2024
Discover your new favorite writers with the essential annual guide to the newest voices in literature. The book includes the 12 stories selected for the 2024 PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, which recognizes outstanding debuts published in literary magazines.
Make a tribute donation to PEN America in honor of someone special!
Remember that English teacher who changed your life with a book? Or the professor who got you out of your comma slump? How about the readers-in-training in your life who may not get to experience some classics that are currently banned? Or your book club buddies who keep you reading?
Read! T-Shirt
Reading is brat. Help turn “brat summer” into “reading fall” with this statement tee.