〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️

And in Canada, follow @cai.abb (Canadian Authors and Illustrators Against Book Bans) over on Instagram! Here on bsky, follow @robinstevenson.bsky.social or @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social!

When I was a student in Alberta, I read a variety of enriching books in IB English classes. Many would no longer be considered "appropriate" for schools.

Also, these policies often target books that offer rep. to LGBTQIA+ students who deserve to see themselves in literature. Please sign. #CAIABB

Petition is good, direct email is even better!

Canadian Authors & Illustrators Against Book Bans (CAIABB) has posted a doc with the addresses and an email template!

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

#abbookban #abpoli #abgov #CAIABB #bookban #freedomtoread #cankidlit #librarysky #nobansincanada

If they don’t consider this a book ban, I’d be afraid to find out what they actually do think is one… a burn pile?

#ABbookban #CAIABB #abpoli #abgov #freedomtoread #kidlit #kitlitcanada #bookban #censorship

Sign the Petition Tell the Alberta Government: No Book Bans

URGENT CALL TO ACTION: please sign and share our petition, tell the Alberta Gov’t you don’t support book bans! Censorship escalates rapidly, put pressure on the gov’t now to ensure it doesn’t take hold in Canada.

Change.org/AB-book-ban

#CAIABB #ABbookban #FreedomToRead #NoBansInCanada

The Handmaid's Tale among more than 200 books to be pulled at Edmonton public schools | CBC News A list confirmed by CBC News shows titles like The Handmaid's Tale and Brave New World are among books to be pulled. The development comes after a policy from Alberta's education minister outlines new...

Thx CBC & @emilyawilliams52.bsky.social for sharing list of >200 books slated for removal from Edmonton Public School libraries:

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

If you're a Canadian author/illus against #BookBanning, pls consider joining #CAIABB! More info here. Thx @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social

the zaniest spider I’ve ever seen, happy to be on the photo/research and not IRL end of this run in! 😆

Person with brown skin wearing a black shirt with a screened cartoon image of the 9 US Supreme Court justices each holding one of the picture books named in Mahmoud v. Taylor. In script: "SCOTUS Book Club"

Person with light skin wearing a white sweatshirt with hands in a kangaroo pouch, with a screened cartoon image of the 9 US Supreme Court justices each holding one of the picture books named in Mahmoud v. Taylor. In script: "SCOTUS Book Club"

Want to support #FReadom? For a short time, the book creators named in #MahmoudvTaylor are offering shirts, hoodies, & sweatshirts with art from @sarahsbrannen.bsky.social - to raise funds for @penamerica.bsky.social, who supported us during this case! #kidlit

www.customink.com/fundraising/...

Authors & Illustrators Speak Out Against Book Bans In Alberta. Text reads: Canadian Authors and Illustrators Against Book Bans, a group of published writers and artists from across the country, strongly opposes the recent efforts by the Alberta government to ban books in the province’s schools. We support the rights of young people to read freely and to access books in which they may see people like themselves and their families on the page, and in which they may learn about the lives of other people different from themselves. We support their right to find the stories they need and the information they seek.

Text reads: The reality is that young people have access to many kinds of media and various forums for content. Books, especially now, are a crucially important and appropriate way for them to learn about all topics, including sex and sexuality, as they develop their understanding of the world and their own relationships and identities. In the context of rising censorship and anti-2SLGBTQIA+ backlash in the United States, we are particularly distressed to see a Canadian province adopting the same book banning playbook pushed by far-right American groups like Moms for Liberty. We are concerned that the new guidelines will be used to target 2SLGBTQIA+ books, a practice that not only censors books and undermines student access, but also sends a harmful message that stigmatizes 2SLGBTQIA+ people and suggests that stories about them do not belong in schools. Footer: Canadian Authors & Illustrators Against Book Bans.

As writers and illustrators, we support the work done by teachers and librarians to develop diverse and inclusive collections in schools, and we urge all levels of government to consult with them about any issues related to books in schools. As writers — and for some of us, also as teachers and as parents — we understand the value and importance of allowing students to choose the literature they want. Students who choose the books they want are empowered, allowing them to improve literacy. Footer: Canadian Authors & Illustrators Against Book Bans.

We believe that the best way to ensure school libraries meet the wide-ranging needs of students is to provide adequate funding for school librarian positions. Book bans do not protect children. Children do not need to be protected from books in their school libraries. They do need to be protected from the kinds of hate, bigotry, and discrimination that often motivate attempts to ban books. We stand against all attempts at book banning in Canadian schools and libraries, and we hope you will join us in this. Message is signed, Canadian Authors & Illustrators Against Book Bans.

Canadian authors & illustators are speaking up against book bans in 🇨🇦. If you're a published Cdn author or illus, pls consider joining us? www.karijones.ca/canadian-aut...

Thx @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social (graphics), @robinstevenson.bsky.social, K. Jones (hosting).
#CanKidLit #CanLit #BookBans

our first shared reading and my first reading ever!!

also look at our extremely cute dogs / the editor & art director of pride puppy!!

An image of a family with two moms, a grandma, a baby, a young child, and dog- all characters from the picture book Pride Puppy- stand in front of the US Supreme Court. Text reads, Statement on Mahmoud v. Taylor, by Robin Stevenson and Julie McLaughlin

Pride Puppy illustrator @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social and I wrote a statement on today's SCOTUS decision in the Mahmoud v Taylor case. Here it is.

Authors and Illustrators of Books in Mahmoud v. Taylor Case Respond to Supreme Court Ruling - PEN America As the authors and illustrators of the books named in Mahmoud v. Taylor, we believe the Supreme Court’s ruling today threatens students’ access to diverse books and undermines teachers’ efforts to cre...

The authors and illustrators involved in the Mahmoud v Taylor case released this statement in today's devastating ruling. Grateful to @penamerica.bsky.social for all their support and for sharing this on our behalf.

pen.org/press-releas...

A lot of kids need books. A lot of those kids sign their emails to authors “some random kid.”
Maybe before you ban books, you should talk to the kids about how they feel. That’s what protecting kids would look like. Not taking away books that help them feel seen while you ignore them. 👍🏻

this is jaunty little Mr. Pants, who makes a cameo on the Pride Puppy parade float!

I don't think I will ever get over the absurdity of this.

Lucy the hound with pride flags

The Supreme Court is on the brink of effectively banning the book Pride Puppy from public schools but IT CAN’T BAN MY PRIDE PUPPY🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

The author of PRIDE PUPPY (the book Neil Gorsuch horribly mangled/misrepresented during the Mahmoud argument) wants LAWLESS to be widely read!

So ... you can go to your local bookstore today & get a copy! Or support independent bookstores (discount code STRICT24): bookshop.org/p/books/lawl...

The illustrator of Pride Puppy agrees!! I can’t wait to read it!

🎶 Woke Marxist Pope
He’s gonna keep on preaching
At the white smoke of hope
He’s gonna keep on preaching
Down on Vatican row🎶

K is for Kavanaugh, chugging his beer; L for lies to fuel hate and fear...

I is for inquiry, where are the straps?
J is for justices, show us the chaps!

🤣 get in line, everyone!

send it to press!! 🙌😂

lmaoooo another beautiful gem perfectly timed during another stressful week!! hot new book by @chortle.blog, gorsuch gets a very unique education!

www.chortle.blog/p/neil-gorsu...

GREG!! Holy shit this is incredible and just what I needed after another stupid stressful week!! Ahahahahaha

LOL our next book is cookin’!!

YES WE SHOULD!

I is for inquiry, where are the straps?
J is for justices, show us the chaps!

If I’ve taken anything from this, it’s that repubs just need a few more chaps in their life

After oral argument, Republican lawmakers, conservative media outlets, and right-wing activist groups held up this exchange as more damning evidence of the prevalence of insidious pro-gay propaganda in America's godless schools. Other voices in the conservative media ecosystem had been preparing for this moment for months: During a podcast in January, former Trump Justice Department flack Sarah Isgur explained that she would not want her child reading Pride Puppy, not "necessarily" because of its LGBTQ content, she said, but because of the "really graphic sex stuff." Isgur went on to cite "L is for leather" and "C is for clamps" as examples of the "way overly sexual content" she would not tolerate in her home.

Also: Since she left the Trump DOJ and rebranded as a legal pundit, a reasonable number of people in academia and Supreme Court media have taken to treating Sarah Isgur as a serious person, and I am imploring you to cut that shit out ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/pride...