New Hanover county is beginning to implement rules restricting books that are being put on the “to read” list. This movement will even go as far as to ban the competition in the county and instead make a “local” version. This means no state or national competition. If it is restricted it would cause the book choosing duty to be moved from educators and librarians to members of the school board. The person who started this restriction movement wanted to restrict books that included things like people in poor situations or violence. This would also cause the purge of diverse experiences and situations to be shared through these books. This competition is an important part of supporting reading to kids of all ages. It is also important to exposing kids to experiences and people of all backgrounds, this is beneficial to nurturing a kids empathy and emotional development, especially to those that are less fortunate than them. Sign this petition to help stop the ban. This petition will be sent to the NHCS school board along with letters by other participants of the competition.