Author speaks out as kids' bookstore owner bans book because of drawing she spotted in background of one page

US writer and illustrator Ashley Benham Yazdani has now addressed the controversy

Warning: This article contains discussion of discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community which some readers may find distressing.

The author of a children's novel banned from a US bookstore for including a queer-inclusive illustration has spoken out.

Ashley Benham Yazdani - the writer and illustrator of 2019 kids' book A Green Place To Be: The Creation of Central Park - took to Instagram last night (12 February) to issue a handful of statements on the controversy.

The hotly-debated drama came after children's bookstore owner Lindsey Vroegindewey revealed back in January that she'd made the decision to ban Yazdani's work, after spotting an LGBTQ+ friendly drawing in the background.

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