Tracie Hall: What’s behind the rapid surge in book banning in the US?

Many regard the United States as a superpower. Yet more than 13 percent of adults in the country cannot read or write above third-grade level. That’s the same as an eight-year-old.

Censorship of library books is also on the rise.

The American Library Association reported a record number of demands to censor books last year. The more than 1,600 contested titles address mainly…