Last week, the Keller, Texas, school district decided to pull 42 books, including “The Diary of Anne Frank” graphic novels, from its shelves. Joining the list were the Bible, “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” and “I Am Jazz.”

In Missouri, school officials are removing books to avoid criminal charges under a new state law banning “explicit sexual material,” according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” is gone. In the legislative debate, a conservative lawmaker claimed school districts were “grooming their children to be sex addicts.”

It’s an absurd claim with zero evidence and offensive to educators.

Oklahoma isn’t immune. Lawmakers tried last year to pass different laws to ban books or penalize librarians. Good bet those will reappear.

House Bill 1775 has served as a bully stick into self-censoring. The bill carries penalties of taking away teaching credentials for educators tackling subjects that might make students feel uncomfortable. Already teachers are avoiding “Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann. The National Book Award finalist tells the true story of how powerful white Oklahoma men used legal means to swindle the Osage Nation of its riches in the 1920s, including murdering its citizens.

At least Oklahoma kids will get a chance to learn about it from Hollywood, when the film adaptation from director Martin Scorsese featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro premieres next year.

Even though school districts and libraries have processes for removing books or restricting titles for parental permission that hasn’t been good enough for some conservatives. They want to censor books for all children and youth, not just their own.

Banning books isn’t about protecting others; it’s about censoring ideas. The root of the written word is a thought. Some people want to erase those thoughts.

In the spring, a spate of challenges were made in schools and towns across Oklahoma. Nearly all protested titles are about race, sex or sexuality.

In April, the Enid Library board voted to ban sex- and gender-related displays and programs. That meant no more displays for Pride Month and a romance book club had to be disbanded. A sexual assault awareness display was taken down.

(Romance books are the fastest growing genre across all adult fiction, including audiobooks, that jumped 47% in the last quarter. I have a spreadsheet of recommendations.)

Last week, an Enid assistant high school principal sent an email to staff directing them to remove a host of books, citing a failed legislative measure, according to the Enid News and Eagle. Attached was a list of 44 books provided by former Education Secretary Linda Murphy, listed on the document as the chairman of the OKGOP Committee on Education.

The attachment described the books as “extremely explicit books that tell stories of detailed sexual activities, rape, pedophilia, incest, homosexual and even underage sex, which are being read by students. Other books are full of gory violence, murder, torture, suicide, self-mutilation and occultist/satanic rituals.”

A.J. Ferate told me that since he became chairman of OKGOP in May, there hasn’t been an education committee.

So, this list isn’t an approved document or position of the Oklahoma Republican Party. That’s reassuring; banning books as an official policy never ages well.

Still, that list represents the view of some of the more extreme conservatives. For certain, some of these books are heavy in subject matter, and it gives parents heartburn. Some parents won’t want their kids reading literature with such graphic content. Those may require students get parental permission.

That doesn’t mean the titles have no value.

Think of what our kids today are facing. No other generation worried about being gunned down while in school. They have lived with the reality of terrorism and war. They see a divided country where adults attack the U.S. Capitol and each other.

Social media gives bullies a weapon grownups have a hard time defeating.

American youth are experiencing the highest rates of mental health challenges on record. In Oklahoma, we are facing an epidemic in youth suicide. Our state also posts among the highest rates of teen births and Adverse Childhood Experiences, which measures trauma.

Our youth are living in the most diversified U.S. in history with at least 40% of the population identifying with a race or ethnic group other than white. That rises to 50% for youth 18 and younger.

Kids need room to learn about other cultures, experiences and histories of those who are different from them. That’s where literature shines.

Books also help in difficult discussions on sex and sexuality. Kids may not want to talk to their parents about what they are feeling, or be scared to broach the subject. Books dealing with this isn’t indoctrination; it’s information.

Adolescence is a confusing time, and our modern world makes that even more complicated.

That’s where books can be life saving. They can connect in ways adults may not be able. That means there may be cursing, sexual content or violence on the page. There may be things as adults we don’t understand or like.

But books are safe places for kids to explore these harder themes, scenarios and ideas. And for those who have experienced trauma, literature can be a touchstone — proof they are not alone in whatever they are facing.

Kids are picky about how they spend their time, that includes books. If something resonates with them, that’s a good thing.

Back to that list from the Enid administrator. It includes “Bridge to Terabithia,” “Eclipse (of the Twilight series),” “For Black Girls Like Me,” “The Hate You Give,” and “Dear Evan Hansen.”

Some are newer titles, like the rom-com “Red White and Royal Blue” and more tragic ones like “The Lovely Bones.” Then, there are old chestnuts like “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and “Of Mice and Men.”

I’m still surprised to see “Lord of the Flies” on the banned lists. My Dad studied that at Miami High School sometime around 1965. After all those generations having read this book by William Golding, our society still stands.

This list from Oklahoma conservatives isn’t as comprehensive as one from a Texas lawmaker with 850 titles, which has been a great guide for a reading list.

Enid Superintendent Darrell Floyd followed up after complaints (a sign people still care about the First Amendment), telling staff to disregarded the earlier email and saying “different language should have been used.” He chalked it up to a misunderstanding.

And, good bet, some Enid teenagers now have 44 books they will be looking up to read.