Human Body Theater: A Non-Fiction Revue
Maris Wicks
About this book
Welcome to the Human Body Theater, where your master of ceremonies is going to lead you through a theatrical revue of each and every biological system of the human body! Starting out as a skeleton, the MC puts on a new layer of her costume (her body) with each "act." By turns goofy and intensely informative, the Human Body Theater is always accessible and always entertaining. Maris Wicks is a biology nerd, and by the time you've read this book, you will be too! Harnessing her passion for science (and her background as a science educator for elementary and middle-school students), she has created a comics-format introduction to the human body that will make an expert of any reader -- young or old!
Why it was banned
Listed in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans as banned pending investigation in Clear Creek-Amana Community School District, Iowa, in June 2024.
Censorship history
United States school ban context: Human Body Theater was listed by PEN America as banned pending investigation in Clear Creek-Amana Community School District in Iowa in June 2024. The case is notable because the book is educational nonfiction rather than a novel: its restriction shows how broad review processes can catch health, anatomy, and science materials alongside fiction. That matters because censorship of basic body knowledge narrows what students can learn about biology and health in age-appropriate formats.
Bans
| Country | Year | Reasons |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2025 | Other |