Julianne Moore expressed shock and disappointment after learning that her 2007 children’s book, Freckleface Strawberry, was banned by the Trump administration from schools operated by the Department of Defense (DoD).
Moore shared the news on Instagram, questioning why a story about self-acceptance and embracing differences was deemed controversial. The book, inspired by her own childhood, follows a seven-year-old girl struggling with her freckles before learning to appreciate them.
Despite its positive themes and widespread acclaim, Freckleface Strawberry was banned alongside Kathleen Krull’s No Truth Without Ruth (about Ruth Bader Ginsburg) and Ellis Nutt’s Becoming Nicole (about a transgender girl), as reported by PEN America.
Moore, the daughter of a Vietnam War veteran, attended a DoDEA school herself and expressed sadness that military children wouldn’t have access to a book that reflects her own experiences growing up in a military family.
She stated, “I never thought I would see this in a country where freedom of speech and expression is a constitutional right.”