--- title: A school board banned a book. Now everyone wants it - The Hustle description: After a school board banned Art Spiegelman’s critically acclaimed graphic novel, Maus, it shot to the top of bestseller lists. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/69531223-News-Brief_2022-02-04T014330.874Z.webp --- # A school board banned a book. Now everyone wants it ![Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) [Juliet Bennett Rylah Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/JBRylah) Published: February 04, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 They say forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest — and that certainly appears to be the case for a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel. ![A school board banned a book. Now everyone wants it](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/69531223-News-Brief_2022-02-04T014330.874Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=69531223-News-Brief_2022-02-04T014330.874Z.webp) #### **The backstory** Art Spiegelman’s *Maus: A Survivor’s Tale* is based on the author’s interviews with his father, a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. All characters are depicted as animals: Jews are mice, for example, while Nazis are cats. Despite the novel’s critical acclaim, a McMinn County, Tennessee, school board [banned](https://www.mcminn.k12.tn.us/o/mcsd/article/639918) the novel from its 8th-grade curriculum over 8 curse words, a drawing of a naked mouse, and depictions of violence, [per](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/27/tennessee-school-board-bans-pulitzer-prize-winning-holocaust-novel-maus) *The Guardian*. #### **But the people want what they can’t have** Interest in *Maus* has boomed, [according to](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=%2Fm%2F01z1dl) Google Trends, and the book has climbed to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list, [per](https://www.npr.org/2022/01/31/1076970866/maus-banned-tennessee-school-board) *NPR*. Additionally, several comic bookstores have offered to donate free copies to McMinn County students, while a fundraiser to purchase the book for students across the US has already raised [$105k+](https://www.gofundme.com/f/nirvana-comics-knoxville-project-maus?fbclid=IwAR2sc5xSAvoIMGy2SPOgH9two82KF_gVKfhVYIGpown1z_bYaL0qVuOSRrI) at press time. The ban also resulted in an apparent flurry of film and TV offers, but Spiegelman [told](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/maus-art-spiegelman-hollywood-adaptations-1235085193/) *The Hollywood Reporter* he’s not interested in adaptations because “comics adhere to the brain better.” **Quote:** “Read whatever they’re trying to keep out of your eyes and your brain, because that’s exactly what you need to know.” — [Stephen King](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7347192-censorship-and-the-suppression-of-reading-materials-are-rarely-about), the famous horror author whose books are frequently [banned](https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/challengedauthors) Topics: [Education](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/education) [Media & Publishing](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/media-publishing) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Getty Images’ AI play](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1235356694-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-woman-taking-photo_20230925214039.webp) ### Getty Images’ AI play - ![Student loan repayments are back and more confusing than ever](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1645811006-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-StudentLoans_20230831230545.webp) ### Student loan repayments are back and more confusing than ever - ![AI-generated foraging books seem dangerous, right?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1714231094-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-mushrooms_20230830223519.webp) ### AI-generated foraging books seem dangerous, right? - ![Looking for an edge in attracting talent? 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