‘Inclusion and love will always win’: TikTok rallies around blind author whose inclusive children’s book was banned
In a victory against the conservative book-banning movement, TikTok came to the rescue after author Paul Castle’s children’s book was targeted by hate.
Castle is a legally blind author and illustrator who lost 95% of his eyesight due to Retinitis Pigmentosa. However, he didn’t let his eye diagnosis stop him from pursuing a career in the visual arts. On social media, he shared how he uses “accessibility tools,” such as a tablet, to illustrate his books. Castle knows that his condition is progressive, and he won’t always be able to illustrate. Hence, he has made the most of the time he has to pursue his dream of being an author and illustrator. Unfortunately, he has dealt with book banners desperately trying to silence him.
Castle is most well-known for his Pengrooms Collection, which consists of two children’s books, Pringle & Finn and The Secret Ingredient. Both are adorably illustrated children’s stories following penguins Pringle and Finn, two big-hearted male penguins who enjoy making wedding cakes for their friends. The books depict a variety of family structures and types of love in an innocent, child-friendly way to encourage inclusion, love, and acceptance. While Castle quickly ran into obstacles due to conservative efforts to ban every inclusive and diverse book, TikTok quickly rallied around him.
Book banners failed to silence Paul Castle
In June of 2024, Castle posted a heartbreaking video capturing the moment he learned a bookstore banned The Secret Ingredient. A major bookstore chain had reached out to him, expressing interest in carrying his book. After placing an order for 200 books, the store called him to say that they were sending the books back. It claimed the book infringed on its “policies” and requested a refund.
Later, Castle explained that the book was initially put on display but was pulled due to receiving two customer complaints. Sadly, today, that’s all that it takes to get a book banned. In fact, he said, “Censorship often begins with just one complaint.” However, the bookstore never explicitly explained what “policies” were violated by the book. Of course, one can easily read between the lines and recognize that the subtle LGBTQ+ themes were enough to trigger book banners.
Meanwhile, the book return wasn’t even the first time he faced challenges due to conservative book banning. In another video, he revealed that he was forced to change his first title from The Pengrooms to Pringle & Finn because a bookstore said they wouldn’t be able to put it in the kid’s section if the title was The Pengrooms. The content remained exactly the same; it was simply that a title mentioning two grooms meant the book had to be in the LGBTQ section. Castle was devastated to have changed the title he originally chose but had to do it to ensure his book would reach as many people as possible.
Then, conservative trolls who had never read his book swarmed the Amazon review section for The Secret Ingredient and flooded it with fake one-star reviews. However, for once, conservative book banners didn’t get their way.
After sharing his story on TikTok, the BookTok community instantly rallied around Castle. When his 200 books were returned, TikTok users quickly bought out every single copy. He sold out within 24 hours of explaining the situation. He started pre-orders for another shipment and sold out before the books arrived. As a result, he had to put in a third order. So many people bought his book that it was sold out from June until November 2024. Not only that, but TikTok users got to work reporting every fake review on Amazon and succeeded in having them removed. Today, 99% of The Secret Ingredient‘s reviews on Amazon rate the book five stars.
“Inclusion and love will always win,” Castle stated in a recent update on the situation. While he expressed his gratitude to TikTok for “showing up” for Pringle & Finn, he urged them to do the same for other books. He stated, “When you go into your bookstore, ask them, ‘What inclusive and diverse voices do you support.'”
In a country where book banning has reached record numbers and is only expected to increase under Donald Trump’s presidency, it’s wonderful when stories of victories against censorship arrive. A major bookstore lost 200 potential sales because it decided to submit to the book-banning minority, and dozens of Amazon users who wasted their time writing fake reviews had their posts deleted. Castle’s story shows that people do have the power to combat book bans and protect diverse books.
Another reason why Castle’s story is so important is because it shows book banning from the author’s perspective. We often talk about banned book titles and what conservative politicians, parents, and school board officials are doing while rarely mentioning the authors. Castle’s TikTok struck a chord with users because it finally showed the human element of book bans. Book bans aren’t just about a book missing on a bookshelf in some school across the country from you; they’re also about the authors whose stories and struggles we may not know, learning that their dreams have just been crushed, that they have to alter their life’s work, or that they have to process a refund for 200 books because some random, angry person complained.
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