A Dangerous Idea

2025 ASJA Book Award Honoree | 2025 Booklist's Editors' Choice title | A School Library Journal Best Kids' Book of the Year



One hundred years ago, a small-town science teacher ignited a nationwide debate over what students should learn in school--and who should decide.



* "Compelling." -School Library Journal, starred review

* "Timely." -Booklist, starred review

* "Insightful." -Horn Book, starred review

* "Comprehensive and conversational." -Shelf Awareness, starred review



A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection



In 1925, when Tennessee lawmakers banned the teaching of evolution in public schools, teacher John Scopes challenged the law--and set off a gripping circus of a legal battle. Two masterminds faced off in a blistering courtroom debate over creationism and natural selection, each armed with the books they believed belonged in classrooms. Celebrity politician William Jennings Bryan relied on the Bible to make his case, while legal luminary Clarence Darrow defended Charles Darwin's groundbreaking books On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man. Their clash would go down in history as the Scopes Monkey Trial.



A century later, here is the riveting truth of what happened and why it matters. For a nation still arguing about the books and ideas that young people should encounter, award-winning author Debbie Levy delivers an important, insightful and expertly-researched account of our history that illuminates the challenges we face today.