Full transparency: this started out as a letter-to-the-editor. I contemplated sending it in to the Dallas Morning News. Then, I changed my mind. Then it was going to be an open letter to everyone who wants to ban books in schools . I have since decided to call it a love letter b ecause it springs from the deepest well of my love for education, students, and learning. This letter is full of LOVE. I will not resort to anything less than love. So, here it is... My love letter to the book banners. Banning books in public schools is nothing new. As long as there have been books, there have been those who have wanted to ban them. Yet, something about the current wave of book-bannings feels especially dangerous. And especially terrifying. (Get ready, because I am about to state the obvious.) Students need access to complex, diverse text in public schools. A large body of research demonstrates that equitable access to books promotes reading achievement and motivation (Allington, 2002, 2009; Kr...