Reshma Saujani, the founder of the book series Girls Who Code was surprised to wake up to her company’s book being banned in a school in a Pennsylvania school district.

Girls Who Code Books Banned

The novel was added to PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans which tracks restricted literature worldwide. The series follows a group of young girls who are part of the coding club and partake in adventures involving coding.

“I was just shocked,” Saujani said. “This is about controlling women and it starts with controlling our girls and what info they have access to.”

“In some ways we know that book banning has been an extreme political tool by the right — banning books to protect our kids from things that are ‘obscene’ or ‘provocative’ — but there is nothing obscene or provocative about these books.”

Girls Who Code book series founder
Girls Who Code Founder Reshma Saujani

No Reason Provided For the Ban

Pennsylvania’s Central York School District, the school that banned the book did not give a reason for the ban. The school is located in an important political swing region and that should tell you all you need to know.

This series is just one of many books that have been banned recently nationwide. Books about racial issues, women’s issues, and LGBTQ+ rights issues have all see had books banned. The Brooklyn Public Library has made it possible for young readers to get access to this books nationally. 

“We use these stories to teach kids to code,” Saujani said. “It felt very much like a direct attack on the movement we’ve been building to get girls coding. Especially in districts that don’t have the technology or have disparate Wi-Fi, books are a great way to learn to code and a way to equalize access to coding.”

I am eager to hear why this book series was banned because coding is not controversial. They will surely come up with some ridiculous excuse and the ban will likely stay in place. It is more of a political statement than anything else. If only these parents cared about their children’s education like they did for the party they support. 

“You cannot be what you cannot see”

“You cannot be what you cannot see,” Saujani said. “They don’t want girls to learn how to code because that’s a way to be economically secure.”

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