The parent of a Waukesha School District high school student has requested that The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Chinese Handcuffs by Chris Crutcher be removed from the district’s libraries, insisting that both novels should be restricted to adults over age 18.
This is not the first time that the Waukesha School District has been attacked by parents claiming that the books their children are assigned are not suitable for high school students. Looking for Alaska by John Green, challenged by parents due to its profanity and references to drug use and sex, was retained by the Consideration Committee through a unanimous vote in July. Both Runner and Handcuffs are due to be presented in front of the same committee in August.
The Kite Runner is a critically acclaimed best-selling novel that, according to the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), “tells a tale that includes some of literature’s and life’s greatest themes—love, honor, guilt, fear, and redemption.” Chinese Handcuffs is also a highly praised coming of age novel that is “written and recommended for students age 13 and up” and, as stated by NCTE, “corresponds to the intellectual and emotional level of readers in that age group.”
The Kids’ Right to Read Project (KRRP) sent the below letter, which explains the constitutional and educational reasons for retaining the books in the district’s libraries to the Waukesha School District Superintendent and Consideration Committee.
For more information, read our press release.