Lauren Allen
itslaurenallen.bsky.social
Lauren Allen
@itslaurenallen.bsky.social
Co-founder of Once Upon a Ban | Demand A Seat Spring 2025 Graduate

https://onceuponaban.com/
This was such a great conversation and I can’t wait to share it! I left feeling inspired to do more in my community and I hope you will too. #freedomtoread
Coming Wednesday! We can't wait to share our conversation with @txfreedomread.bsky.social. From SB 13 to how parents can protect the freedom to read in their communities, there's a lot to cover! Visit www.onceuponaban.com to sign up to get this week's newsletter. #freedomtoread #bannedbooks
August 4, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Reposted by Lauren Allen
We decided it was time to introduce ourselves. 👋
www.onceuponaban.com/p/introducin...
Introducing Ourselves
After six months, we felt it was finally time to share why we're here.
www.onceuponaban.com
July 7, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Reposted by Lauren Allen
The Huntington Beach City Council says there is explicit material in the children’s library, so we asked parents what their children checked out. #freedomtoread #libraries #bannedbooks
June 3, 2025 at 6:24 PM
The volunteers organizing to protect the HB library are truly incredible. Their passion for the library shines through in everything they do and I think they offer a great example of how communities can organize to protect the freedom to read.
With the special election days away, supporters of the Huntington Beach Public Library have been staging read-ins to bring awareness to the campaign. We stopped by to ask what the library means to them. #freedomtoread #bannedbooks
June 1, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Summer is here and nostalgic memories of summer reading challenges as a kid are on my mind. I’m so excited to launch this summer reading challenge and carry on the tradition with my family.
You're invited to join our summer reading challenge focused on banned books! Read 20 banned children's picture books OR 1,000 pages of banned books for any age.

Link below to get our challenge tracker and lists of banned books to get you started.

#ireadbannedbooks #summerreadingchallenge
Join Our Summer Reading Challenge
It's a banned book summer. Read along with us!
www.onceuponaban.com
May 27, 2025 at 7:48 PM
I'm ready to #DemandASeat! It's been an incredible experience being part of this training program and I've learned so much about campaigns. Thank you @momsdemand.bsky.social and @everytown.bsky.social for such a motivating experience. Now it's time to put it all into practice!
May 20, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Reposted by Lauren Allen
Inspired by a book as a child, @rajanilarocca.bsky.social now writes to encourage the next generation. Her book Your One and Only Heart was at one point restricted at the HB Library. She shared her take on censorship, why she writes for children, and her upcoming book.

#kidlit #freedomtoread
A Conversation with Author Rajani LaRocca
Inspired by a book as a child, LaRocca now writes to encourage the next generation.
www.onceuponaban.com
May 20, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Reposted by Lauren Allen
We had a chance to chat with this month’s featured author @rajanilarocca.bsky.social about what inspired her to write Your Only and Only Heart, why she believes access to nonfiction is important, and her upcoming book Some of Us. Can’t wait to share our May 19th newsletter! #kidlit #freedomtoread
May 13, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Reposted by Lauren Allen
Walk with me to the restricted section of the Huntington Beach library where health books for preteens are considered inappropriate. California has a law against book bans but that hasn’t stopped the Huntington Beach City Council from relocating content to achieve the same effect. #freedomtoread
May 6, 2025 at 5:59 PM
We could have filled several newsletters with the story of what's happening in Huntington Beach. The way residents are rallying to protect their library from censorship is inspiring. Here's our interview with @ourlibrarymatters.bsky.social. We have much more to share with you on social this month!
The debate over access to children's health books has the residents of Huntington Beach, CA headed to the ballot box this June for a special election. We spoke with Carol Daus from @ourlibrarymatters.bsky.social about their work to protect their local library. #ireadbannedbooks #freedomtoread
Your One and Only Heart and The Huntington Beach Library
The debate over access to children's health books has this town headed to the ballot box.
substack.com
May 5, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Representation in stories matters. Children should be able to see themselves in the stories they read and have the opportunity to learn from other perspectives. Our interview with Author @cswild.bsky.social dives into this more. onceuponaban.com/p/once-upon-...
April 26, 2025 at 8:27 PM
I had the opportunity to write for The Truth OC earlier this week about what’s going on at the Huntington Beach library. Check it out!
April 23, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Lauren Allen
Mahmoud v. Taylor is being heard at the Supreme Court today and supporters of the freedom to read are holding a Rally for Inclusive Education. We stopped by to show our support! #freedomtoread #ireadbannedbooks #kidlit #booksnotbans #lgbtqkidlit
April 22, 2025 at 4:26 PM
I find this post from inside IMLS absolutely chilling.

www.reddit.com/r/fednews/s/...
From the fednews community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the fednews community
www.reddit.com
March 20, 2025 at 5:10 PM
This RFK confirmation is one of the most alarming and devastating yet. I worry for children. I worry for seniors. I worry for those who need the life saving research that will inevitably be stalled. I worry for all of America. This will make America sicker and innocent people will pay the price.
February 13, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Tired of hearing “voicemail full”? Here’s another option.
Please plan a visit to your nearest US Senate office to push senators to stand up against Trump’s lawless overreach. Your ask will be slightly different if your senator is a Democrat or Republican. We put together a toolkit with everything you need to know: http://indivisi.org/...
February 6, 2025 at 6:05 PM
I'm so honored to be part of the #DemandASeat Spring 2025 Cohort! The program kickoff was tonight and full of inspiring speakers from @momsdemand.bsky.social. I'm so excited to learn more about managing campaigns and running for office! @everytown.bsky.social
February 5, 2025 at 4:31 AM
The days are long but the calls to your representatives are short. 5 calls has seriously made it so easy to call and speak out. This is my new routine in 2025.
February 4, 2025 at 7:21 PM