children's books

After two years of controversial efforts to remove books from school shelves, one Missouri librarian says colleagues are leaving the profession because it has become too painful. Plus: A Kansas toy shop recommends board games for the holidays.

Despite objections from parents and students, Leavenworth School District Board of Education voted 4-3 this week to pass revisions to an education policy that bans “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” references in the district’s elementary library books.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program is now statewide in Missouri. The program provides children with a free book in the mail each month until their fifth birthday. The goal is to nurture a love of reading and improve literacy.

The number of bans and restrictions in the U.S. rose 33% in the last school year, according the report from free speech group PEN America. Florida had more bans than any other state, followed by Texas and Missouri.

To comply with a rule from Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, public libraries in the state now require kids as old as 17 to have adult permission to get a library card. The rule also prohibits libraries from buying materials that are "obscene," but librarians say that's dangerously vague.

A new statewide rule introduced by Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has librarians concerned for their ability to curate their collections in a way that serves the entire community.

A new St. Charles City-County library policy requires anyone under 18 to have a parent or guardian present to sign up for a library card. The move came in response to new rules from Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft threatening funding for libraries over "age-inappropriate" materials.

As a KCUR caller points out, our first experience with books is often when they're read to us by an adult. So yes, audiobooks count as reading. Our collection of book enthusiasts discuss the makings of a good audiobook and what they recommend listening to.

Missouri is one of a growing number of places where government funding is being deployed as the newest weapon in the fight over books. Beginning May 30, a new state rule could deny state funding to libraries over books deemed inappropriate for young readers — although it's not clear how it will be enforced.

Shane W. Evans could only wonder why his book "We March," a sparsely worded picture book for kids age 5 to 9, was banned.

A new Missouri law made it a crime to provide minors with sexually explicit visual material, leading librarians across the state to remove anything from their collections that they thought could be considered criminal.

Historical fiction? Romance? Memoir? Mystery? No matter the genre, there's a book club in Kansas City that is right for you.