Ban This Book

“Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t think school should be a place where a parent’s authority is undermined. I think it should be a place where it’s reinforced.”

This line from Mrs. Sarah Spencer encapsulates her power position as the initiator of the book banning. Couching her stance in this language puts the members of the school board in a precarious position; if they disagree with Mrs. Spencer, others may consider them antagonistic toward parents.

“I was glad to have my own copy, but I couldn’t help thinking about that book that wasn’t on the library shelves anymore, and how I would never have known From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was my favorite book if I hadn’t found it there in the first place.”

Amy Anne is only nine years old but astutely realizes the impact of banning a book from a school library. Her personal conflict with missing her favorite book resolves when her father stops at a bookstore and buys Amy Anne her own copy, but in this line of interior monologue, she broaches the bigger problem: Others may never come to know, love, and appreciate the story like she does because they will no longer have access to it.

“Like the main character in a book, I was finally going to do something.”

Like many young voracious readers with strong imaginations, Amy Anne often visualizes her life as a novel in which she is the main character and everyone she knows serves in a supporting character role. To this point, though, her life in story form in her head has been less than thrilling because she has few opportunities to direct the “plot.” Here, she determines a course of action: She plans to read all the banned books on Mrs. Spencer’s list in subtle rebellion against the act of banning them. This moment illustrates character growth for Amy Anne as she bravely acts where she has been afraid to do so before.

“There was a note in my locker mailbox.”

Amy Anne enjoys the notion of a small informal book club dynamic between Rebecca, Danny Purcell, and herself, in which they share and plan to talk about the banned books. She is content for the moment to read the banned books on the list and share them with Rebecca and Danny, but unexpectedly a note appears in the small makeshift “mailbox” of cardboard in her locker. As Amy Anne never receives notes, not even from Rebecca, she is intrigued. The plot’s rising action ratchets up a notch with this discovery.

“I don’t need a fancy library degree to know what’s right and what’s wrong for children.”

Mrs. Spencer insults Mrs. Jones when the librarian questions her credibility—questions it fairly, as Mrs. Spencer admits first to never having read the books but instead trusting online postings and reviews for determining their worth. Mrs. Spencer also encapsulates a commonly disputed conflict when moral issues become public matters as to whether education means more or less than knowing right from wrong.

“Well, at least you didn’t lie to her […] We are raising money to buy books for juvenile delinquents: us.”

Rebecca refers lightly to the trouble in which she and Amy Anne might find themselves if caught with the BBLL. Amy Anne is nervous and jittery when Rebecca initially mentions suspension as a potential consequence, but days later, she can joke and take her flustered comments to Principal Banazewski less seriously. Her reactions in this scene indicate a growth in maturity over the time it took to plan the bake sale.

“‘I think it’s the same thing,’ I said. Out loud. My voice got a little shaky as I spoke, but I kept going. ‘Banning and removing. Either way, people can’t read them. And that’s all that matters.’”

Amy Anne keeps the focus on the issue at hand by speaking up to Principal Banazewski. She is not stepping up to this battle for her own sake but for the sake of potential readers who deserve a valuable reading experience. Her act to contest the decisions made by the school’s principal and school board underscores her character growth as she finds the courage to speak up about her beliefs.

“Underneath were two columns—one for the date, and another for the borrower’s name. The dates in the book were all from the 1980s. The names on this date due card had to be adults by now.”

Amy Anne observes the pieces of the old-fashioned library circulation tools with reverence. She sees how handy the newfangled computerized systems are for checking in and out circulating books. This line foreshadows one of the primary ways in which Amy Anne will overcome her opponent Mrs. Sarah Spencer, who was a middle schooler in the eighties.

“Instead what he showed me was a drawing of a locker with a sign on it that said, BOOKS BANNED AT SHELBOURNE ELEMENTARY.”

Amy Anne is surprised to see her own locker referenced in Trey’s cartoons of First Amendment rights in action. It means that he notices her active role in the book banning conflict, and this makes her question his intentions: Is Trey a friend or foe, considering his own mother is behind the challenges to the titles? Part of Amy Anne’s character arc involves learning that knowing whom to trust is not always simple.

“Go hide that in your locker.”

Amy Anne works to take control of a nearly disastrous situation in the cafeteria, when a second grader’s copy of Wait Till Helen Comes hits the floor in a dropped-tray episode. The scene is more suspenseful with Principal Banazewski’s proximity and foreshadows the eventual discovery of the BBLL.

“What do you think about your books being banned from our library?”

Amy Anne was not one to speak up at the beginning of the story; she sat mute at the school board meeting, and she later allowed Principal Banazewski to think she removed the locker list. This question, asked in front of the fourth grade, Mrs. Jones, the principal, and others, represents a change of character for Amy Anne. She gathers the courage to ask Dav Pilkey about his works subjected to removal.

“Danny? Do you have a book in your backpack you haven’t checked out?”

This line comes from Mrs. Jones as Danny, head of acquisitions for the BBLL, intentionally sets off the library’s alarms with a book in his backpack. It represents a point of no return for the BBLL and for Amy Anne, as well as a betrayal of her Ally Mrs. Jones, as Rebecca and Amy Anne intend to take the books from the library without permission. Amy Anne is not the type of student to disobey, so any small transgression represents a significant change in her character—and this transgression is not small, as she actively uses the desensitization device on the “borrowed” books to prevent the alarm from going off as she and Rebecca leave.

“That card was a keeper.”

Amy Anne sees a name she recognizes on the old signature cards in the back of the challenged books she took from the school library. It is not immediately revealed whose name she sees but from Amy Anne’s reaction, it will be an important gamechanger in the plot. The suspense increases with this chapter ending.

“Maybe he just really wanted to read Captain Underpants.”

Amy Anne’s moral conscience strengthens over the book banning issue. She insists to herself that the books she accumulates in the BBLL are there for the good of anyone who would like to read them—and that includes the son of the woman challenging the titles. She persuades herself that Trey is just a fan of Dav Pilkey—a sensible assumption, as Mrs. Jones mentioned earlier that he checked out a Captain Underpants title from the library. Amy Anne passes this test of conscience and morals, but ultimately fails to adequately understand the repercussions and personal risk of her actions.

“They watched me get taken away like a criminal.”

Amy Anne, who has never been in trouble at school before, experiences entirely foreign circumstances when Principal Banazewski discovers the BBLL. This complication turns the rising action in a plot-twist like way. Instead of expanding the library further, Amy Anne faces suspension, and her new goals and actions are interrupted and curtailed. She weeps and worries for three days.

“Speaking up just got you into trouble.”

This line represents a low point in Amy Anne’s character arc “dip.” She believes now that working against authority by speaking out is unfulfilling and too risky to continue. She regrets her actions not because she has changed her mind about banning books but because she worries that she hurt others in her decisions. Regret often plays a strong role in a coming-of-age process, and Amy Anne will come out the other side of this low point with more mature and wiser opinions.

“I sat on the floor and opened every one.”

Here, Amy Anne’s low spirits begin to shift. The notes in her locker serve to not only welcome her back to school after a suspension but to inspire a shift in her self-worth and confidence. Her character arc begins its upswing now, and it will continue to grow in optimism as classmates welcome her back with applause and cheers.

“They called to say how great it was the Mrs. Jones gave me the book.”

The truth comes out as Jeffrey Gonzalez explains how Principal Banazewski discovered the BBLL. Amy Anne learns the facts just in time, as she is ironically on her way to confront Trey Spencer for revealing the existence of the locker library. It is also ironic that Jeffrey’s parents intended their call to commend Mrs. Jones for her help—but the call ultimately results in her termination from employment.

“But this was the new Amy Anne. The one who wasn’t going to keep quiet anymore.”

After repeated questions from Trey asking to know why she does not like him, Amy Anne finally lets him have it, in no uncertain terms. Here she prefaces her explanation with a line of interior monologue to bolster her growing confidence regarding speaking up when needed.

“No, I am not overreacting.”

Amy Anne pauses in her dramatic exit after discovering that Angelina turned a week’s worth of hard work into pretend hay for her “stall.” Usually, Amy Anne does not speak up about the concessions she makes for the peace of the family, but she does in this scene before running away. The moment serves as the climax to the subplot about her struggles to be heard and seen in her chaotic household.

“Let me get you a form.”

After an emotional meltdown the night before on seeing the destruction of the Request for Reconsideration forms, Amy Anne concocts an elaborate scheme to replace the documents. She calmly takes control of the process that will accomplish over 7,000 newly completed forms by the end of the school day. Indirectly, a meaningful change occurs in Amy Anne’s character over the course of the story.

“Well-behaved women seldom make history.”

Amy Anne admits to Mrs. Jones that she got into trouble and apologizes that Mrs. Jones lost her job as a result. Mrs. Jones, though, a static, strong Mentor and Ally to Amy Anne, shows her with a hug and kind words of understanding that she is proud of her. This line teaches Amy Anne that change and risk are inevitable parts of working for a sensitive cause.

“Probably because for the amazing things books can do, they can’t make you into a bad person.”

Amy Anne summarizes the best thing about books in her presentation to the school board as she responds to Mrs. Spencer’s claim that some books are harmful to young readers. It is ironic that she, a young reader just like the many Mrs. Spencer aims to protect, eloquently explains to adults that books cannot turn one toward an immoral lifestyle.