Though no formal complaint had been filed and despite the fact that both titles had already been upheld by a reconsideration committee in previous years, a Board Member in East Penn School District in Emmaus, PA, motioned to nix Prep and Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test from the district's summer reading lists.
Though no formal complaint had been filed, district officials in Enfield, CT thought it best to cut the graphic novel Sidescrollers from its summer reading list, after a citizen--who is not even a parent in the district--voiced her concerns about the book's content to members of the media and to the school board.
The Kids' Right to Read Project, a joint intiative of NCAC and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, supported in part by AAP and the CBLDF, sent a letter to the members of the school board, urging them to follow their own procedures and to return the book.
A parent of an incoming freshman in Enfield, CT took a complaint about the graphic novel Sidescrollers to the district Board of Education and succeeded in having the book axed from the list. In addition, the board decided to take responsibility for creating the reading list out of the hands of its teachers and funnel it through a board committee and [...]
This summer, the Hardin Valley Academy wanted to keep its STEM students interested in school subjects during their vacation. After determining that the best way to do this was probably not by assigning weekly physics equations, the school assigned Daniel H. Wilson's best-selling sci-fi novel Robopocalypse (Doubleday) as the program's summer read. A parent of an incoming freshman voiced his concerns [...]
The Frederick County Board of Education decided to retain the textbook Social Studies Alive! Our Community and Beyond, which had come under challenge after parents objected to "left-leaning" or "socialist" statements in the text. The Kids' Right to Read Project issued a letter urging the Board not to remove the book because of objections to its content.
The San Francisco Bay area is not the likeliest location for a censorship debate. Or one would think, at least. The area had already come up in our censorship battles lately, but more as the Magical Free Expression Castle on the Coast. San Francisco is the home of Todd Parr, author of the recently-censored The Family Book and Patricia Polacco's embroiled In [...]
The Kids' Right to Read Project joined with partner organizations in writing a letter to the Fremont, CA School Board, warning against another rejection of the book Bastard Out of Carolina without sound pedagogical reasons. KRRP also wrote a letter in 2011 about the board's rejection of Tony Kushner's pulitzer-prize winning play Angels in America.
Patricia Polacco, the prolific children's book author who wrote In Our Mothers' House answered NCAC's questions about the objections which have recently been raised in Davis County, UT. Complaints have centered around the non-traditional nature of the family depicted in the book and the fact that the family has two moms.
Through records requests, the Kids' Right to Read Project was able to get access to the official complaints filed by parents and citizens who objected to the content of The Family Book and In Our Mothers' House. The excerpted passages below make clear some of the discomforts these individuals felt and what viewpoints they use to justify their desire to remove [...]
Patricia Polacco's In Our Mothers' House is a story about love and family. But its the non-traditional nature of the family which has drawn complaints from parents, resulting in restricted access. NCAC objects to the district's response to these objections and said as much in a letter to the Superintendent.
Seven organizations joined with the Kids' Right to Read Project on a letter urging the Erie School Board to reconsider its ban on Todd Parr's The Family Book (Little, Brown and Company) and all materials endorsed by GLSEN. The book was removed from schools because of objections to a page saying "some families have two moms or two dads."
Watch children's book author Todd Parr explain the story behind his award-winning book The Family Book. The book was recently banned, along with all materials supported by GLSEN, in Erie, Illinois. Parents objected to the book because of a page which states that "some families have two moms and two dads," saying that it "pushes a homosexual agenda." NCAC and partner [...]
After a busy week working to fight back against book bans and challenges, we were thrilled to see some good news. A Tulsa school district recently heard a parent's challenge to the book Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford. The parent who challenged the book called the book "vulgar, vulgar, vulgar," objecting to its references to masturbation, pornography and an [...]
We were able to chat yesterday with Amy Timberlake, the author of The Dirty Cowboy, (illustrated by Adam Rex). The book that has been at the center of a censorship debate outside of Hershey, P.A.. Two parents of a child at an elementary school objected to the nudity of the cowboy, calling it pornographic. Most likely hoping not to rock [...]
The Dirty Cowboy, a children's book about a cowboy taking his annual bath was removed from school libraries after a parent objected to the cowboy's partial nudity, calling it "pornography" The Kids' Right to Read Project is urging the book's return.
Students in a high school English class in Sumner County, T.N. chose John Green's award-winning Looking for Alaska as their post-exam in-class reading. Within a week, a single complaint led to a county-wide ban. The Kids' Right to Read Project is standing against this sudden, wide-reaching ban. Read our letter and watch the author's video statement.
UPDATE: New video. NCAC speaks out against the removal of the best-selling Fifty Shades of Grey from the Brevard County Library system in Florida as an affront to First Amendment rights. Read our letter to county officials.
Our joint letter opposing the massive censorship of Mexican American Studies in the Tucson Unified School District has a new signer: the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. The letter was launched in late Janurary and has now attracted well over 30 national and regional organizations dedicated to education and free speech.
Read the joint statement of over two dozen organizations speaking out against the removal of books used in the Mexican-American Studies Progam in the Tucscon Unified School District
It has been a formidable year for Sherman Alexie, whose Young Adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has been challenged several times, due to would-be censors' unease about sexual and violent content. Alexie’s book was challenged in Helena, Montana, swapped out of the curriculum at Hastings Middle School in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, banned from classrooms in Prineville, [...]
As Banned Book week approaches it appears that the book censors are in competition to suppress some the most interesting and recognized authors and books! Buckling under pressure from vocal individuals with narrow ideological agendas, school districts are betraying their primary responsibility: to provide young people with a quality, wide-ranging education and help them develop into thinking members of society. [...]
"And So It Goes"...to the restricted section of the library? Republic, MO Slaughterhouse Five ban lifted but NCAC says literary gulag is an insult to students and teachers.
The Richland, WA school board has overturned a previous vote that removed Sherman Alexie's award-winning Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian from the district's high school curriculum. The book will now be available to all high school classes! NCAC congratulates the board members who reversed their previous votes, after reading the book for themselves. According to the Richland News [...]
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian will be restored to the curriculum for all high school classes in the district, located in Washington state, following a joint letter from NCAC, ABFFE, AAP, SCBWI, NCTE and PEN
A recent article by Meghan Cox Gurdon in the Wall Street Journal argues that the grim, gory, and dark shadow cast over the genre of young adult literature is inappropriate for its target readers. This controversial review exposes the fear of many parents who worry about children’s exposure to realities believed to be too mature. Cox Gurdon suggests that free [...]
Joint letter to the Fremont, CA Unified School District.
One family is the source of complaints that have, to date, removed two books from course reading lists at Bedford High School. Rather than creating procedures to avoid parental complaints, the school district needs a process for handling complaints and providing alternative reading materials to objecting families -- without depriving the rest of the school access to literary works.
NewSouth Books, based in Alabama, is publishing a new edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. As many know, Mr. Twain has been very much in the news lately. His Autobiography is a current bestseller (NYTimes bestseller list for 10 weeks now) and is earning well-deserved praise. Regrettably, now we must add another reason [...]
NCAC wrote this letter expressing concern about the cancellation of the Flagler Palm Coast High School production of To Kill A Mockingbird. Superintendent Flagler County Public Schools 1769 East Moody Blvd. Bunnell FL 32110 mailto:[email protected] November 12, 2010 Dear Superintendent Valentine, We write to express concern about the cancellation of the Flagler Palm Coast High School production of [...]
The NCAC wrote this letter in response to a parent's challenge. Dr. Susan Watne Review Committee for Helena Public Schools Helena, Montana mailto:[email protected] Dear Dr. Watne and Members of the Review Committee for Helena Public Schools, We write concerning the challenge to Sherman Alexie’s acclaimed novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. We understand [...]
A disappointing ruling came out last night regarding Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian in Stockton, Missouri. The Stockton School Board voted 7-0 holding firm in its decision to remove the book from school classrooms, notwithstanding pressure from many educators to keep it. The board also ruled in favor of banning the book from the high [...]
NCAC sent the following letter to Stockton School District in Missouri concerning the challenge to Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The novel was used during the 2009-2010 school year as the all-school read for grades 9-12, and challenged because the content did not reflect "community values."
An invitation to young adult novelist Ellen Hopkins to speak about her experiences as a writer was rescinded by the Superintendent of the Humble (Texas) Independent School District after some parents complained about the content of her books. NCAC coordinated a letter of protest with five other national organizations.
After a long and drawn-out challenge process, this week Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon finally prevailed in Franklin Township! The denouement to this extended drama came down to a special convening of the Franklin Township school board set for this past Monday evening (July 6th). No one knew how it would turn out. New members of the school board, whose [...]
After a couple months of debate, the Franklin Township School Board in Indiana has ruled to retain Song of Solomon in its AP English classes!
We were gratified to learn of a kind mention last week from librarian Lizzy Burns in her thoughtful blog A CHAIR, A FIREPLACE & A TEA COZY concerning one example of the kind of work the NCAC does every day. You can find the original post here. The latest wrinkle in the story: Revolutionary Voices has been pulled from not [...]
As we reported in our latest edition of Censorship News, Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon was recently removed from an Indiana high school’s AP English class on April 28 after a parent and school board members complained about its content. Two days later, the book was returned to the class when a committee of educators and parents ruled in favor of keeping the book. On June 21, the Franklin Township school board will hear an appeal of the committee’s decision.
The Rancocas Valley School Board in Mt. Holly, New Jersey, chose to remove one of the three challenged books at its meeting on May 4. Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology and two other books were challenged because they appear on a list of books on GLBTQ themes created by the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN). The objectors [...]
The Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Asheville, North Carolina will be spending this Halloween burning books and music its deemed Satan's work - including all non-King James versions of the Bible. Attendees will enjoy barbeque chicken and all the sides while they burn works written by the Pope and Mother Teresa among others. Pastor Marc Grizzard says there is a [...]
On September 29th, Wyoming City Schools' School Board voted to back Superintendent, Gail Kist-Kline's plan to re-evaluate every non-textbook teachers recommend to students. Staff members will now be asked to rate books based on a new 4-point criteria, which inclues the extent to which a book "could create controversy among students, parents and community groups. However, removing books from reading [...]
