Banning Spanish-Inclusive Picturebooks: An Obstruction to Teachers’ Abilities to Engage in Authentic Cariño with Latiné Students and Their Peers

Abstract Current book bans are operating in direct opposition to research that has, for about a century, supported the value of diverse children’s literature in PreK-12 classroom spaces—and serving as conduits to the irreparable harm inflicted upon young people of color. While the anti-Critical Race Theory, anti-Black, and anti-LGBTQ + rhetorics of book-ban policies have been highly publicized, less emphasis has been placed on the growing number of Latiné-centered, Spanish-inclusive books that are finding their way onto banned book lists. Through the merging of critical policy analysis and critical multicultural analysis of children’s literature, framed by authentic cariño, we pose the following research questions: (1) To what extent are book ban laws across the United States targeting Spanish-inclusive books, and what are the contributing factors? (2) How do Spanish-inclusive picturebooks reflect and promote critical care/community, as called for in PreK-12 spaces? We found that none of the states banning books are explicitly referencing language. However, through political conservativism, 2021 legislative vagueness, and local advocacy, these books have been placed on banned book lists. The findings we focus on in this paper are related to Spanish-inclusive picturebooks’ manifestations of (1) multilingual (Spanish) valuing, (2) empathy elevation, and (3) critical restorying. Ultimately, we call for the enactment of authentic cariño as a form of resistance to book bans, which harm Latiné students and their peers by blocking their research-supported literacy learning experiences.