Jason Reynolds, YA author and the Library of Congress’s National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, visited The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on December 2 to discuss his new book, Stuntboy, in the Meantime, as well as the detrimental effects of banning books in libraries and schools across the US.
When asked by Colbert about his books being on the American Library Association’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books List, Reynolds stressed the importance of access to books for young readers.
“For those of us on that list, it’s not a badge of honor,” Reynolds told Colbert. “People always say, ‘Congratulations. You’re doing something right.’ It’s like, yeah, but at the same time, there’s been access cut for all the young people who might need these books and where they might only get them in schools. You can’t take for granted that there might not be a library or bookstore in everybody’s community or that there may not be a $20 bill to go buy that book that they no longer have access to because of these bannings.”
Watch the full interview:
