The Guardian reports:
A book about book bans has been banned in a Florida school district. Ban This Book, a children’s book written by Alan Gratz, will no longer be available in the Indian River county school district since the school board voted to remove the book last month.
Gratz’s book, which came out in 2017, follows fourth-grader Amy Anne Ollinger as she tries to check out her favorite book. Ollinger is told by the librarian she cannot, because it was banned after a classmate’s parent thought it was inappropriate.
In a peculiar case of life imitating art, Jennifer Pippin, a parent in the coastal community, challenged the book. Pippin is also the chair of the local Moms for Liberty chapter, a far-right organization that has been behind many of the book bans that have swept across the US in recent years.
The Tallahassee Democrat reports:
Gratz, its author, called the Indian River County decision “incredibly ironic.” “They banned the book because it talks about the books that they have banned and because it talks about book banning,” he said in an interview. “It feels like they know exactly what they’re doing and they’re somewhat ashamed of what they’re doing and they don’t want a book on the shelves that calls them out.”
Board members Jacqueline Rosario and Gene Posca, who voted in the majority, were backed by Moms for Liberty during their campaigns, according to Treasure Coast Newspapers. The third “yes” vote came from Kevin McDonald, who was recently appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“The title itself and the theme challenges our authority. And it even goes so far as to not only to mention books that are deemed inappropriate by school boards, including ours, it not only mentions them but it lists them,” McDonald said.
As you’ll see in the many tweets below, Ms. Pippin is as batshit crazy as you’d expect. She last appeared here in March 2023 when she successfully pressured the same school board to ban a book about a Holocaust survivor.
The @IRCSchools Board voted against the committee decision to retain @AlanGratz’s Ban This Book. They banned a book because it mentions other banned books.
It’s truly absurd. pic.twitter.com/JBpSC6zEQA
— Florida Freedom to Read Project (@FLFreedomRead) June 2, 2024
Oh, #Florida! School board bans book about school book bans, accusing it of “teaching rebellion of school board authority.” The name of the book: “Ban This Book.” https://t.co/ubQ4SSUN9p via @DouglasSoule
— Craig Pittman (@craigtimes) June 11, 2024
Jennifer Pippin, a moms for liberty chairperson, has requested the Indian River County School Board remove several books due to “nudity.”
Because Goblin butts are a serious threat. pic.twitter.com/flymoUTPyo
— Casey (she/her) (@MamaSissieSays) February 6, 2024
Jennifer Pippin, the chair of a FL chapter of Moms for Liberty, succeeded in getting Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation banned. She also appeared on TruNews, an antisemitic livestream, & has since refused to apologize for speaking on the show. https://t.co/FkPoH7FMaq pic.twitter.com/GbYXzp2Sx3
— Craig Nixon (@CraigNi40397745) November 27, 2023
1. @Moms4Liberty decided that several classic children’s picture books are pornography, including Maurice Sendak’s In The Night Kitchen.
A Florida school district agreed to ADD CLOTHING to the illustrations
Follow along for the full saga, including before and after pics
🧵
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 1, 2024
3. As a result, In The Night Kitchen was removed from school libraries. Jennifer Pippin, the local @Moms4Liberty chair who filed the challenge, says she then met with the district Superintendent. They agreed to resolve the complaint by adding clothes to Sendak’s drawings. pic.twitter.com/1EqBHTE3QL
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 1, 2024
Hey look at IRC M4L boss Jennifer Pippin calling school shootings a hoax https://t.co/fTXrAvdwSM
— Jen Cousins 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🇵🇸 (@JenCousinsFL) April 20, 2023
A Moms for Liberty chair who previously fought a library for having an adaption of Anne Frank’s diary recently promoted her organization on a network that warns viewers about “seditious Jews,” “Jewish tyrants,” and how Jewish people “have forsaken God” https://t.co/2010q1ogjF pic.twitter.com/kHCc7A72Ep
— Media Matters (@mmfa) October 26, 2023
This @EducationFL library training meeting is wild. M4L Jennifer Pippin, who had her two kids out of wedlock, only wants books in schools that promote abstinence until marriage ☠️ pic.twitter.com/LHcqeMN0Z2
— Jen Cousins 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🇵🇸 (@JenCousinsFL) December 6, 2022