Tanya Lee Stone’s acclaimed young adult novel, A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl, has been removed from Cody District Public Schools in Cody, WY, against the recommendation of a review committee.
In early November 2017, a single parent complained about sexual content in A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl and demanded its removal from Cody High School Library. The school district convened a complaint committee to review the book. NCAC and the assembled coalition of literary and educational organizations sent a letter to the superintendent, as well as the Cody District Public Schools Governing Board, in advance of the committee meeting to offer guidance on their review of the book. The KEC Committee, which reviewed the book, voted 7-2 to retain it in district libraries. Despite this, the school board voted on February 20, 2018, to remove it from all schools in a 5-1 decision.
While not every book is right for every reader, the role of school libraries is to allow students and parents to make choices according to their own interests, experiences and family values. However, no parent, student or community member may impose their views, values and interests on others by restricting an entire community’s access to particular books.
The Kids’ Right to Read Project has written a letter, co-signed by NCAC, American Booksellers for Free Expression, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Author’s Guild, National Coalition of Teachers of English and the Association of American Publishers, urging the board to reverse its decision and restore this novel to library shelves.
Read the full letter to Cody School Board below. Click here for a full screen view: