Parents Send Kids To Read. Libraries Have Other Plans.

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When I clicked open an email from the Free Library of Philadelphia earlier this week, I figured one of two things had happened. Either I’d suddenly time-traveled back seven years, or I was hallucinating. Because isn’t DEI falling out of fashion lately?

There’s proof that it is. But clearly not at libraries. This was the image the Free Library chose to advertise its summer reading program:

The Free Library of Philadelphia is having a normal one. pic.twitter.com/J0PXrABHUB

— Amanda Harding (@iamdeeda) June 4, 2026

It honestly gets funnier the longer you look at it. Every progressive group is subtly represented in a program that, ultimately, is aimed at children. 

The accompanying activity tracker is full of ultra-woke suggested titles, including “Homebody” by Theo Parish, described as “a hopeful story of coming home to your nonbinary identity,” and “Into the Streets: A Young Person’s Visual History of Protest in the United States” by Marke Bieschke. 

Ubiquitous drag queen story hours nationwide, among other affronts to common decency, have already shown that public libraries were successfully hijacked by the radical Left years ago. But it’s still jarring to encounter something as benign as summer reading programs gone totally off the rails. 

The launch of these über-progressive summer reading initiatives comes at the same time Usha Vance, the second lady of the United States, is rolling out her summer reading challenge. The contrast is striking.

Calling all readers: My Summer Reading Challenge is back! Visit https://t.co/KqGhZTJjUu TODAY to download your reading log and get started. Your next summer adventure is just one page away! pic.twitter.com/isrw3QZ9FS

— Second Lady Usha Vance (@SLOTUS) June 1, 2026

Predictably, this launch has been mostly ignored by mainstream media. But ABC did interview the second lady to discuss the program.

“Last year it was an idea that we had really at the last minute as we were thinking about ways to enhance childhood literacy and get kids reading over the summer and sort of stave off some of the summer learning loss that traditionally happens every year,” Vance told the outlet. “So we did a little pilot program and it was a success beyond what we had hoped.”

“This year we’re having a big rollout all over the country,” she continued, mentioning partnerships with schools, libraries, and other institutions nationwide. (One of those is probably not the Free Library of Philadelphia, based on the type of content it’s promoting.)

Instead of recommending books about protests, gender fluidity, and whether rivers have feelings, Vance said the premise of the White House’s summer reading program is easy for parents to follow.

“Our summer reading challenge is really simple. All kids have to do is pick up 12 books, anything that they like,” the second lady told ABC. “If a kid likes reading about squirrels, as one did last year, read 12 books about squirrels. If a kid loves history, read books about history.”

“So you read those books, write them down on a log and send them to whitehouse.gov/read and we’ll receive them, send a certificate,” Vance added.

This basic and effective summer reading program doesn’t push an agenda. Instead, kids are encouraged to explore topics they care about and read books that correspond with their interests. Meanwhile, libraries nationwide are pushing progressive garbage to kids via summer reading programs. 

On the San Francisco Public Library’s list of 22 recommended books for grades 3 to 5, the only white character featured in the cover art is a girl learning the art of witchcraft. The Chicago Public Library suggests a children’s version of Michelle Obama’s memoir, “Becoming.” 

And then there’s the Phoenix Public Library, whose list of books for children in grades 6 through 8 includes “We’re in This Together” by activist Linda Sarsour, who is best known for co-organizing the Women’s March. 

“Sarsour shares the memories that shaped her into the activist she is today, and how these pivotal moments in her life led her to being an organizer in one of the largest single-day protests in US history,” the description reads. “From the Brooklyn bodega her father owned to the streets of Washington, DC, Linda’s story as a daughter of Palestinian immigrants is a moving portrayal of what it means to find your voice in your youth and use it for the good of others as an adult.”

Encouraging children to read in the summer is great. Subtly interspersing ultra-woke titles into their “to be read” piles is diabolical. This summer, it would be wise for parents to take a good, long look at their local library before signing up for any summer reading challenges. 

As for the Free Library of Philadelphia: 2019 called, and they want their performative activism back.