The Day The Books Disappeared, written by Joanna Ho and Caroline Kusin Pritchard and illustrated by Dan Santat, published in July 2025. It’s a picture book celebrating the freedom to read and what happens when one person believes that their perspective should outweigh the perspectives of others.
The story follows Arnold, who is deeply devoted to his book about airplanes. He can’t quite understand why anyone would want to read books about other topics, especially on things like tomatoes or submarines. So when Arnold discovers he can make books disappear, he indulges more than he intended to. It doesn’t take long before all the books are gone, including the book on airplanes he so deeply loves. Now, he has to figure out how to get those books back. Along the way, Arnold discovers the power of empathy, the necessity of diverse perspectives, and how it is we are all interconnected with one another–and why acceptance is crucial to living and thriving in today’s world.
The Day The Books Disappeared earned several glowing reviews from trade journals. Among them are a starred review from School Library Journal, which called it “destined to be a cherished read aloud in classrooms everywhere,” noting that “Adults will clearly spot the parallels to the book challenges that are becoming all too frequent across the nation and can engage their young readers in discussions about kindness, empathy, and respect.” Booklist added that “Given increasing limits on book access, this pick could be the honey that enlightens a few flies.”
Imagine, then, putting together a book tour only to find one of those school visits canceled because administrators did not want authors Kusin Pritchard and Ho to talk about the contemporary landscape of book censorship that inspired their book. That’s exactly what happened to the duo at Country Club Elementary School in San Ramon, California.
Upon arrival at the school, both authors were called into the principal’s office. There was concern over what would be included in their presentation to students, who were already lined up and entering the library. The principal directed the authors not to talk about book bans and not to mention queer-authored or queer-centered stories at all.
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The authors were, of course, talking about book bans in an age-appropriate manner for their audience of elementary school students. The themes of The Day The Books Disappeared were inspired by the removal of books by and about marginalized people. Their presentation deck, composed of 45 slides–most spreads from the book itself–included seven addressing book bans. Five were images pulled from PEN America reports to illustrate how many books were banned across the country, as well as a slide featuring a sample of the kinds of books being banned.
Despite the directive from the principal, neither author was going to change the content of their presentation.
At this point, the principal needed to get on the phone with higher administrators to make sure the event could proceed as-is. During this time, both authors sat and waited. On the wall? A display promoting the school’s character trait of the month: be accepting.
The authors waited for 40 minutes before finally hearing back from the principal. What she shared next wasn’t good news: the event needed to be canceled immediately. The authors were asked to leave the school without giving their talk to the students, who were taken back to their classrooms.
This is far from the first time an author’s school visit has been canceled upon their arrival. In an era of book censorship and educational gag orders, the chilling effect is real–administrators, educators, and librarians cave to what they perceive as a threat to their careers by those outside the building. Political pressure groups like Moms For Liberty and others operating on the local level have put targets onto public schools and libraries, attacking them at any opportunity.
Cumberland Valley School District (PA) canceled actor and children’s book author Maulik Pancholy’s school visit in April 2024. Their reason? The author’s activism and gay identity were of concern. Pancholy’s talk was about anti-bullying when instead, the district bowed to imagined bullies and stepped into the bullying role itself. Public outcry against the decision led to the author’s talk being reinstated.
Abrupt school visit cancelations have been growing in this era of book bans, the bulk of which are specifically targeting authors and books within the LGBTQ+ community.
Students at Country Club Elementary School were denied the opportunity to hear from two outstanding authors this month, too. Much like the cancellation with Pancholy in that Pennsylvania school, the cancellation in San Ramon played right into the exact message those authors sought to share–and entirely against what the school purports to be an important character trait–acceptance.
San Ramon has not been without its share of book censorship issues over the last several years. In 2023, some parents complained about Gender Queer being available in the high school, with complaints about other LGBTQ+ themed books, as well as books by and about people of color, ramped up over the next year. Some of those challenges have been encouraged by at least one of the district’s school board members. There is an active chapter of Moms For Liberty in the county.
It’s difficult to comprehend how this school found itself in this situation. There are layers of approvals necessary in order for a school visit from authors to even occur. Among the most basic tasks? Knowing what the book and possible presentation themes include in advance of the authors showing up at the front doors. Absolutely nothing about The Day The Books Disappeared is inappropriate for elementary school students, as it is written for them. There’s also nothing inappropriate in these authors presenting the background information that inspired their story, especially as it was done in an age-appropriate manner by the authors, both of whom are former educators. Books by and about diverse people are being challenged and banned–that’s a fact.
It is also a fact that those very types of books have been under fire in the school district for years, thanks to a few people whose intentions are not as innocent as Arnold and his passion for his plane book.
So what now?
The students at Country Club Elementary School, who were denied this visit, deserve to have it, and the authors who worked to arrange this visit also deserve the chance to share their story with these readers. To be clear, this decision was not made by the school librarian nor the school principal. It came from higher up the chain in the district. Take the time to write to the San Ramon Valley Unified School District and let them know why their decision to cancel an author event was inappropriate.
It’s worth also letting them know that they could learn a few lessons from the book, including one that their very own school is promoting as its character value of the month: be accepting.
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