Utah has ordered Craig Thompson’s Blankets removed from schools statewide.
The State Board of Education released a list of 13 book titles that have been banned in all Utah public schools. This is per a state law that requires all districts to remove books that have been banned in at least three districts for being “objective sensitive material,” which means it is considered “pornographic or indecent.” The school must “dispose” of the works and cannot sell or distribute them.
Blankets by Craig Thompson is the only graphic novel on the list, which also includes A Court of Thorns and Roses and its sequels by Sarah J. Maas and Judy Blume’s Forever.
Blankets and Craig Thompson won two Eisner Awards in 2004, Best Writer/Artist and Best Graphic Album-New (see “DC Dominates Eisner Awards”). The book and creator also won three Harvey Awards: Best Artist, Best Cartoonist, and Best Graphic Album of Original Work (see “Drawn & Quarterly, Fantagraphics Dominate Harvey Awards“). Drawn & Quarterly acquired the work in 2015 from previous publisher Top Shelf Productions (see “D&Q Acquires Rights“).
Kasey Meehan, Freedom to Read program director at PEN America, dedicated to protecting freedom of expression, said, “It is a dark day for the freedom to read in Utah… Allowing just a handful of districts to make decisions for the whole state is antidemocratic, and we are concerned that implementation of the law will result in less diverse library shelves for all Utahns.”
Source: ICv2
