SLJ staff

The Book That Almost Rhymed by Omar Abed and illustrated by Hatem Aly is the winner of the Irma S. Black Award. Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale by Lynn Brunelle and illustrated by Jason Chin earned the Cook Prize.

An Ohio man burned 100 books he checked out at a public library; military academies and schools that serve children of military members continue to battle book bans; South Carolina has banned more books than any other state; and more in censorship news. 

The Republican governor of North Dakota said no to legislation he called redundant and misguided; Texas legislators want to dictate where books are in bookstores; students and librarians continue to fight book bans across the country.

A federal judge ruled that the government may not take further action toward dismantling the IMLS, including the mass layoff of employees, while the case is heard.

Book access and other restrictions on libraries and library values remain top of mind for readers. So too, practical posts toward serving library patrons, with creative ideas for staging a crime investigation to teach research skills and preserving family recipes getting the most views on SLJ.com.

The bare breast of Roman goddess Virtus on the Virginia state flag means kids in Lamar, TX, can't access lessons about Virginia on PebbleGo Next; Oklahoma teacher who gave kids QR code for Brooklyn Public Library's Banned Books collection loses defamation suit; and a military mom explains why her children are part of the lawsuit against Department of Defense schools.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor, a legal dispute that started when a Maryland district added books with LGBTQIA+ characters and themes to its curriculum and did not allow parents to opt out of instruction. Here are SLJ's reviews of those books.

Twelve students are suing the Department of Education Activity—the federal school system that runs schools for children of U.S. military members—and the Secretary of Defense for the removal of books from school libraries; Mississippi has removed race and gender databases accessed by public schools and libraries; and more.

Readers responded to our coverage of a North Carolina bill, which could bring criminal charges against librarians over "material that is harmful to minors"—and much more.