American actress Julianne Moore is now famous not only for her roles in Oscar-winning films but also for ending up on the U.S. government’s list of censored authors. Her children’s book Freckleface Strawberry, an illustrated story about a little girl with freckles who learns to accept her diversity, was banned from schools run by the Department of Defense (DoD) at the behest of the Trump administration.
DoD schools are institutions directly managed by the United States Department of Defense for the children of military personnel and government staff assigned to military bases in the U.S. and abroad. Although they are public, they are subject to stricter federal education policies, making them particularly susceptible to decisions made by the current administration.
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Published in 2007 with illustrations by LeUyen Pham, Freckleface Strawberry became a hit with sequels and even a stage musical. An innocuous story, on the surface, but not for the government, which removed it from school libraries without much detail, moving it to a “professional collection” that only school staff can access.
Moore, surprised and bitter, wrote on Instagram that the news came as a “great shock” to her. “Freckleface Strawberry is a book I wrote for my children and all children to remind them that feeling different is normal. Never did I think it would be considered controversial.”
According to an investigation by The Guardian, the removal is part of a broader review ordered by DoD in the wake of two Trump executive orders against “gender ideology” and “radical indoctrination” in schools. All without official blacklists, no public announcements. Just silent disappearances.
Meanwhile, under Moore’s post, many colleagues expressed dismay. “But what? This is incomprehensible,” wrote Kate Bosworth. “This is scary,” added Halle Berry. Michelle Pfeiffer commented, “Are you kidding??” and asked, “Where can we find this book?”
Library associations speak of “shameful censorship,” and the government assures there is no problem with freedom of expression. Meanwhile, alongside Freckleface Strawberry, other books continue to disappear. But without official lists, no one knows exactly which ones. And perhaps that is precisely the point.
