Students protest after Anh Do’s books banned from US schools

A public school district in America banned Anh Do books, inspiring children to take action, it has been revealed.

Students in the US had to campaign in order to have a ban overturned on the books of much-loved Australian refugee and author Anh Do.

Do, an artist, author, TV host and comedian, came to Australia at the age of three from Vietnam.

The 45-year-old is well-known for his WeirDo series of children’s books, which it has been revealed were banned in public schools in the Central York district in Pennsylvania, US in November 2020, The Australian reported.

That’s a district covering about 5000 students.

Do’s books deal with the immigrant experience and are about people of colour, and the school board banned them after parents raised concerns about their “divisive” nature.

In a statement to parents at the time, the school board said it had been concerned about teaching materials that “may lean more towards indoctrination rather than age-­appropriate academic content”.

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Children's book Weirdomania by Anh Do.

Another book in the series.

Anh Do was not aware that his books had been banned.

The board voted to ban all books on the classroom resources list, and it appears the WeirDo series got caught up in that too.

The ban was only lifted in January when students took action, protesting before classes every day using placards to demand the books be brought back and to oppose the censorship.

Do was unaware this ban had occurred at the time, only finding out recently when a list of school book bans was published by PEN America in July. There were 17 of Do’s books on the list.

Do’s agent, Andrew Laing, said: “It’s amazing. Just incredible. Good on those kids who had it overturned.”

Also on the banned list were titles such as To Kill A Mockingbird by Pulitzer Prize winner Harper Lee; I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou; and John Green’s Looking for Alaska.

PEN issued a statement: “Books in the US are under profound attack. They are disappearing from library shelves, being challenged in droves, being decreed off limits by school boards, legislators and prison authorities.”