On August 21, 2025, the South Brunswick Board of Education held a meeting, discussing various issues in the district. However, as the end of the meeting approached, Board Member Rajesh Soni brought up a book currently in the South Brunswick curriculum as a mentor text, questioning its value because of the controversy coming up in other states. The book in question was Ruth and the Green Book, a picture book depicting an African-American girl’s journey to see her grandma, across Jim Crow America.
When raising concerns about the book, Soni said, “If [these books] are controversial, why do we want to invite controversy here?”
The book shows the experience of segregation and racism in a digestible way for children to understand, but also teaches students reading and writing skills that they are learning alongside the book. The book supports the Amistad Commission of New Jersey, a curriculum that promotes education on African American history.
While the issue of the Green Book seems to have dissipated, it is not the first controversy regarding the removal of a book from a collection at South Brunswick. A few years ago, On a Sunbeam was a title that was challenged due to its LGBTQ+ content, but it is still currently a part of the South Brunswick High School library catalogue. The issue with the book seemed to be surrounding how appropriate it was for younger audiences, and the solution was to have it shift levels, up to the high school library. The solution, however, is rarely that simple, and there is a whole process behind challenging a book.
Librarian Mrs. Lisa Manganello said, “We have a list of questions that we ask the person challenging the book to fill out first. And that’s what we got from On a Sunbeam. If you read it, what page or pages do you find offensive, what would you suggest we replace it with? We have links to the New Jersey State curriculums, like Amistad and the LGBTQ curriculum and a few others that are really the source of many of the challenges'”
While the issue of Ruth and the Green Book came up because of its disputes in other states, there are many books that have a reputation for being controversial that are in the SBHS collection. Some famous titles include Maus, Genderqueer, and Flamer, two of which have been on the Top Ten Most Challenged Books list for multiple years.
“Genderqueer is a very edgy title. It’s hard to read,” said Manganello. “I think for a kid that’s really struggling with body issues, it might be a really good resource to say: ‘you’re not alone, here’s another lived experience that sort of mirrors some of the things you’re dealing with.’ I’d like to think that the books that people choose to challenge, they haven’t thought that through, that there may be someone that for them, this book will be a lifeline.”
Having access to books that cover a wide range of content, even if deemed controversial, is important because there is a loss of education for students about topics they may be struggling with, and these books help them in a safe way. However, a lot of people seem to disagree, especially a nationwide group that has gained prominence in recent years called Moms for Liberty, which has gained publicity and streamlined book-challenging.
Part of Mrs. Manganello’s work is figuring out if a challenge comes from a local parent or Moms for Liberty. A key giveaway of a challenge coming from this organization is a typo that is recognizable, and Mrs. Manganello said, “When you see someone that’s put in a book challenge and that typo is in there, you go, this list came from [Moms for Liberty], and this is not a list of people that say, ‘I’ve read this and now I’m horrified by it.’ This is people saying ‘I think I should be horrified by this, and therefore, I’m going to tell you about it.’ It’s not always people that have children in those schools.”
Like any growing grassroots organization, Moms for Liberty has spread throughout the country, with an organization just a small distance away in Old Bridge, and tends to spread as they pull more people in and spread their messaging of what books should and should not be deemed as problematic.
Despite all of the controversy, the value of having access to books, even ones that don’t always support the ideal topics, is undeniable, and with so much casual censorship taking place in the USA today, books are a tether to diversifying perspectives and thinking critically. While Ruth and the Green Book may not get banned in South Brunswick today, it is important to educate yourself with the resources being offered while you can.
