"Stories bond us, but so does struggle"

~Sam Helmick

In this episode of Rogue Librarians, we speak with Sam Helmick, President of the American Library Association. This is our third conversation with Sam! This time we are focusing on the upcoming Youth Media Awards and what this event means to children, librarians, and book lovers everywhere. Below are all the pertinent links.

Stream the Youth Media awards at ala.unikron.com and on the ALA Facebook page.

For more information go to the ALA Youth Media Awards information page

Sam Helmick’s contact information:

@geometric rabbit or @shelmick on Instagram

@samhelmick on Bluesky

@samhelmick on Facebook

Some books we talked about during the podcast:

Bluebird, by Sharon Cameron

American Dirt, by Jeanine Cummins

The 13 ½ Lives of Captain Bluebear, by Walter Moers

Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures, by Walter Moers

Good Spirits, by BK Borison

Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White - special edition

The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo

Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell

The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare

Big, by Vashti Harrison

Hair Love, by Matthew A. Cherry, Illustrated by Vashti Harrison

Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak

A Heart In The Body Of The World, by Deb Caletti

In this episode we do a close reading of the book I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban, by Malala Yousafzai. As always, we found the conversation enlightening and cathartic. Learning about Pakistan’s history and the Pashtun people was fascinating. We also found that the struggle between religious conservatives and those challenging traditional values is universal, not isolated and far away. Additionally, we tried the sacred reading practice Florilegia, which we learned from the folks over at Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. The result was compelling.

First, we apologize for some sound issues we were having in this episode. We’ve changed a few things and are learning as we go. We hope to solve this problem before our next recording.

In this Part 1 episode we discuss the book I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban, by Malala Yousafzai. In Part 1 we discuss why the book is banned, share some context to help understand the book, and give our assessment of why it’s worth reading. The book was published in the US and UK on Oct. 8, 2013, exactly one year after the author, Malala Yousafzai, was, as the title implies, shot by the Taliban in a direct assassination attempt. The memoir was co-written by journalist Christina Lamb. The book has been translated into more than 40 languages.

Today’s banned bit was a story published by the ALA entitled, “Court permanently blocks Trump’s executive order to dismantle federal agency for America’s libraries.”

We found information on why the book was challenged in the following articles:

• ‘The Color Purple’ and 30 Other Banned and Challenged Books You Should Be Watching - PEN America

• Report: 1,586 School Book Bans and Restrictions in 86 School Districts Across 26 States - PEN America

• These 176 Books Were Banned in Duval County, Florida - PEN America

• Pakistani private schools ban Malala Yousafzai's book 'I Am Malala', calling teen activist 'a tool of Western powers' | National Post

• The Complexities of I Am Malala Criticism: An Analysis, from Bookeys

• Censoring Malala - Harvard Political Review

Finally, we referenced these episodes of The Rogue Librarians, check them out!

• Episode 52. Fahrenheit 451 (Part 1: Why It's Banned)
• Episode 53. Fahrenheit 451 (Part 2 : Close Reading)
• Episode 63. Sold (Part 1: Why It's Banned)
• Episode 64. Sold (Part 2: Close Reading)

In Part 2 of Cemetery Boys we do a close reading of the book. There are generally a few spoilers, but trust me, there is so much more to discover in the book! Cemetery Boys is a young adult urban fantasy novel written by Latinx American author Aiden Thomas. Published in 2020, this is Thomas’s debut novel. It became the first book by a transgender author featuring a trans character to be on the New York Times Bestseller List. It received starred reviews from Booklist and Publisher’s Weekly, who also named it the best book of the year. As did NPR and Barnes and Noble.

Links mentioned in the podcast:

• “Cemetery Boys: A whimsical celebration of Queer Latinidad,” published in OutWrite Newsmagazine

• Rogue Librarians, Episode 70. Cemetery Boys (Part 1: Why It’s Banned)

• We also found this fun playlist on Spotify called The Cemetery Boys Soundtrack. Enjoy!

In this Part 1 episode we discuss the book Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas. In Part 1 we discuss why the book is banned, share some context to help understand the book, and give our assessment of why it’s worth reading. Cemetery Boys is a young adult urban fantasy novel written by Latinx American author Aiden Thomas. Published in 2020, this is Thomas’s debut novel. It became the first book by a transgender author featuring a trans character to be on the New York Times Bestseller List. It received starred reviews from Booklist and Publisher’s Weekly, who also named it the best book of the year. As did NPR and Barnes and Noble.

Today’s banned bit was about the ALA’s Webinar “How Faith Communities and Librarians Can Advocate for the Freedom to Read.” which took place on November 5, 2025.

We found information on why the book was challenged at the Port City Daily’s article “41 books will come off Pender County Schools shelves while they undergo review”, and on the book resume provided by publisher Swoon Reads.

We found this gem on The U.S. House of Representative’s web site in connection with a meeting, most likely in reference to “House Resolution 733. Expressing concern about the spreading problem of book banning and the proliferation of threats to freedom of expression in the United States.”

If you’d like to read more about Aidan Thomas and the book, we referenced the following interviews:

• 'I’m more interested in what comes next': Aiden Thomas talks 'Cemetery Boys' and writing the trans Latinx identity, by Nivea Serrao on syfy.com

• “Interview: Aiden Thomas, Author of Cemetery Boys,” by Alexx @ Enthralled Bookworm

Finally, we referenced Episode 67 of Rogue Librarians, Interview with Shannon Watters and Branden Boyer White. It’s a great episode, go listen to it!

In Part 2 of our discussion of 1984 by George Orwell, we were inspired by Harry Potter and the Sacred Text to use the sacred reading practice, Lectio Divinia. We modeled our discussion after the “sacred reading” format used by Casper ter Kuile, Vanessa Zoltan and Matthew Potts in their podcast. Here is the link to their webpage, which explains the process in more detail.

• Harry Potter and the Sacred Text

We highly recommend you give them a listen!

We’re celebrating Banned Books Week by reading 1984 by George Orwell. In Part 1, we discuss how this classic tale of censorship taken to the nth degree ended up being one of the most banned books of all time. Here are a few links to articles mentioned in the episode.

• Banned Bits references the article Baker County Library gives away copies of Orwell’s ‘1984’ as part of anti-censorship campaign in the Baker City Herald.

• When Was *1984* Banned? 7 Shocking Censorship Moments (2025) 📚 - Book Summary Review

• Please stop comparing things to 1984, by Rachel Klein on electricliterature.com

It’s fall and we are ready to get in a spooky Halloween mood. In this episode we interview the delightful duo Shannon Watters and Branden Boyer-White, co-creators of the YA Graphic Novel series Hollow. The books are beautifully illustrated by Berenice Nelle and take place in Sleepy Hollow where a group of teens discover the secret of the Headless Horseman. The first book, Hollow, was published in 2022, and the second, Woman in White, on July 30, 2025.

Shannon Watters is the co-creator and co-writer of the award-winning hit comic book series Lumberjanes. She is also a former senior editor and the former head of the BOOM! Box line at BOOM! Studios, the imprint behind critically acclaimed comics and graphic novels like Giant Days, Lumberjanes, Fence, Goldie Vance, Heavy Vinyl, and many others.

Branden Boyer-White is an award-winning fiction writer whose work has appeared in print and online in numerous publications. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Arizona State University, and Hollow was her first venture into graphic storytelling. She re-reads The Legend of Sleepy Hollow every Halloween.

They can be found at their respective Instagram accounts @shanito and @bboyerwhite and at brandenboyerwhite.com and shannonwatters.com.

Shannon named the The Babysitters Club, by Ann M. Martin and Bone, a series of graphic novels by Jeff Smith, as early influences. Branden showed her spooky cred early citing Goosebumps by R.L. Stine as a major influence on her journey to becoming a writer.

Also mentioned in the interview are the Rabbit Ears Version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the novelist (and friend of the authors) Adrienne Celt.