UPDATE #1: Good news--the plan to 'review' AP History has been scrapped. *UPDATE #2 : The controversies in JeffCo have still been brewing since NCAC's intervention. The district decided to establish a committee comprised of two board-appointed members, along with students, teachers, and curriculum experts selected by the District. The district hopes that that the issue regarding the curriculum will be [...]
NCAC joined forces with author Cory Doctorow earlier this year to intervene on a challenge to his book Little Brother in Pensacola, FL. The following article by NCAC Executive Director Joan Bertin, featured on Doctorow’s Boing Boing website to kick off Banned Books Week 2014, discusses the book banning epidemic that always seems to sweep the nation as kids go [...]
Sex-Ed was always and will always be the proverbial Catch-22 of every pre-teenager and teenager’s education. They want to know about their bodies: how it works, what’s in store for the future, and whether what they are going through is normal. But we need to face the facts: it’s an awkward subject that no one wants to discuss. Luckily, author [...]
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 [...]
The brother of an incoming senior in New Eagle, PA has formally requested the removal of the award-winning dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood from the Ringgold High School summer reading list, complaining about the novel's “adult nature” and “grossly inappropriate conduct.” The board’s vote to suspend the book was mitigated by the August 12 decision to rescind the book’s [...]
Like family heirlooms passed down through generations, the same books are often retained in school curricular for student after student to read and reflect upon. These classic novels undoubtedly serve to develop the mental and emotional capacities of their readers; they are, after all, “classics.” But even the rebellious Holden Caulfield and the daring Winston Smith can fail to transcend [...]
Two weeks ago, NCAC's Kids' Right to Read Project and other organizations sent a letter to the Cape Henlopen school district in Delaware expressing serious concerns over the removal of Emily M. Danforth's award-winning novel The Miseducation of Cameron Post, from a summer reading list for the high school's college prep and honors classes. This week, we enlisted the aid of [...]
A parent in Waukesha, WI has formally requested a district-wide ban on John Green's award-winning and beloved novel Looking For Alaska, reportedly claiming the book is "not suitable for teenagers." It's worth noting that the book won the American Library Association’s prestigious Michael L. PrintzAward, which is given annually to “the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit.” [...]
Update July 30: The school board has voted 6-1 to eliminate the entire summer reading list for incoming students at Cape Henlopen High School. Rather than reinstate Cameron Post, they will " return to the district's previous summer reading requirements, which demand college preparatory students read one book for the summer and honors students read two books," according to Delmarva Now. Update [...]
Update 7/16: Paper Towns has reappeared on the latest version of the John Long Middle School summer reading list! Previously: NCAC's Kids' Right to Read Project has expressed concerns over the removal of John Green's award-winning novel Paper Towns, from the 8th grade summer reading list at John Long Middle School in Pasco County (FL). A parent who objected to sexual content and references in the book expressed her concerns in an email to a member of the school board, who in turn forwarded the message to school officials on Friday, June 20. By the following Monday, the book had been removed from the reading list, even though the objecting parent did not request the book’s removal, but merely complained because she had not been alerted to its content.
NCAC's Kids' Right to Read Project has sent a letter to the Murray Independent Schools district in Kentucky regarding the decision to remove the novel UnWholly from 7th grade reading at Murray Middle School, and the ongoing conversation about book challenge policies and how they are implemented in the district. The parent of a student complained that the book’s content [...]
In a letter sent today, NCAC’s Kids’ Right to Read Project expressed concerns over the cancellation of Cory Doctorow's novel Little Brother, as the assigned text for Booker T. Washington High School's school-wide summer reading program. The letter points out that "the book was selected after an extensive process by the professional staff", yet the program was cancelled despite "no formal [...]
No lie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian will likely face another challenge, this time in Brunswick County, North Carolina, where the The Color Purple was challenged earlier this year. NCAC sent a letter in the Color Purple case and the book was ultimately kept. A formal challenge has yet to be filed regarding Absolutely True Diary, though NCAC sent the below [...]
District 196, serving the Rosemount – Apple Valley – Eagan regions near the Twin Cities, has announced that the committee convened to decide whether the book Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You should be retained in the district's libraries has voted 10-0 to keep the work. A parent challenged the book for the use of the word "retarded" in the story. The review process [...]
Update: The book as been retained. Click here for details on the decision. Barthe DeClements' award-winning Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You has been challenged for a school library removal in Rosemount - Apple Valley - Eagan Public Schools (District 196) near the Twin Cities in Minnesota. A parent filed a complaint over the use of the word "retarded" in the [...]
Update: A review committee unanimously decided to keep the book, though an appeal is possible. NCAC's Kids' Right to Read Project has written the Fauquier County Public Schools superintendent and board with regard to a challenge to David Levithan’s Two Boys Kissing in the Fauquier High School library, because of objections to the same-sex themes explored in the book. We [...]
NCAC's Kids' Right to Read Project has sent a letter to the Cape Henlopen School District in Delaware to warn against labeling Aldous Huxley's 20th Century classic Brave New World as potentially "inappropriate" for some Advanced Placement English students, as has been proposed by school board members. Though no one on the board has yet proposed that the book be removed [...]
Though no student was required to read it and a committee of educators and citizens voted it should stay, the Board of Trustees of Meridian Public School District in Idaho still suspended the use of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.
After close to six months of community debate, freedom to read advocates in Boone, North Carolina are breathing a sigh of relief. Last night, a 3-2 school board vote held that Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits could be taught again in Watauga County Schools.
In public comments on Virginia's State Department of Education website and in a letter to board members, NCAC's Kids' Right to Read Project asked the Board of Education to reject a proposed amendment that would force schools to notify parents any time "sensitive" materials are used in the classroom.
A student-led petition sounded the alarm: no new books could enter Muhlenberg classroom libraries without being "rated" for mature, sexual, violent or religiously offensive content. A letter from NCAC's Kids' Right to Read Project sheds light on concerns over such ratings.
The Brunswick County School Board voted 3-2 not to remove The Color Purple after a formal complaint about its content by a member of the county government. In a letter, NCAC and partner organizations argued that removing the book would have an adverse effect on students' education.
In remarks at last night's school board meeting, Teton School District Superintendent Monte Woolstenhulme called for the immediate reinstatement of Bless Me, Ultima. The book was suspended from classroom use with no process or review.
Here they are: KRRP's Top Victories of 2013. We are proud of our work in successfully battling these book challenges, but this effort can only continue with your continued support of the project. If you love these books, support us in this fight for the freedom to read today. [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99fq_L3wdHk&w=560&h=315] The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky / Glen Ellyn, [...]
NCAC has partnered with the Freedom To Read Foundation and other library, education, and free speech organizations in filing an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Arce v. Huppenthal, arguing that a statute which led to the disbanding of Tucson’s Mexican American Studies (MAS) program violates Arizona students’ First Amendment rights.
NCAC's Kids' Right to Read Project organized and sent a letter, cosigned by eight other organizations, to the Watauga County School District reconsideration committee regarding a challenge to Isabel Allende's "House of the Spirits." The book is being taught in 10th grade honors English.
NCAC and partners sent a letter to the Billings School District on Monday defending Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The book is taught in 10th grade classrooms. At a well-attended school board meeting this week, many supporters of the book spoke out in its defense.
If you’re like us, the recent removal of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere from Alamogordo Public School classrooms has caused you to feel anything from confusion to just-plain-no-way-you-can’t-be-serious anger. Now you can take action: A parent in Alamogordo has started a petition on Change.org … Continue reading →
In the middle of a unit on Harper Lee’s classic American novel To Kill a Mockingbird, students at Belle Chasse High School in Lousiana were informed they wouldn’t be finishing the book. Apparently, their teachers told them, the book is banned. … Continue reading →
The news that Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere had been challenged in classrooms in Alamogordo, NM, caused local and national outcry. This week, the district announced that the book is 'educationally suitable, balanced and age-appropriate' and that it would continue to be used.
Celebrated YA author Lauren Myracle joined Acacia O’Connor of the Kids’ Right to Read Project and ABFFE’s Chris Finan on a panel at the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance conference in New Orleans on September 20, 2013. In addition to talking … Continue reading →
As Banned Books Week (9/22-9/29) kicks into gear, the Kids' Right to Read Project finds itself battling censorship issues in half a dozen states. On Monday, KRRP joined other free speech organizations in opposition to the recent ban on Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.
Ten days after the Randolph County School board voted to have the book removed, Ralph Ellison's 'Invisible Man' is back on library shelves and in classrooms following a second vote.
Popular YA novel Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell will remain on school library shelves in Anoka-Hennepin Public Schools, after a committee unanimously voted to retain the book. The book came under fire in July 2013 when it was selected as the county's "Rock the Read" book for summer reading.
The Cumberland County school district cancelled a talk about bullying by author Meg Medina because of the title of her most recent book, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass. The book's title are the first words the main character hears her first day of school, kicking off bullying that will plague her throughout the year.
For whatever reason, it sometimes seems that censorship battles crop up in pairs or groups of three. In May 2012, for example, the Kids' Right to Read Project began battling the removal of Todd Parr's The Family Book and other GLSEN materials in Erie, PA because they "advocated" for "non-traditional" families and lifestyles. Just days later, we learned that Davis County [...]
The Currituck County School Board voted 4-1 on October 14 to keep Tanya Lee Stone's "A Bad Boy Can Be Good For a Girl" in the high school library. We urged the district to follow the recommendation of its review committee and keep the book in a letter last month.
Stephen Chbosky Stephen Chbosky has lost track of the number of times The Perks of Being a Wallflower has been banned in schools across the country. He’s just thrilled that the latest attempt to censor his young adult novel has failed—and middle school kids in Glen Ellyn, IL, now have access to the title in their classrooms once again. [...]
Walter Dean MyersNational Ambassador for Young People's Literature Award-winning and often banned author, Walter Dean Myers, talks to the Write Stuff about why he writes for “troublemakers,” his biggest challenges about being the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, and his latest work: a self-help book for inner-city kids. What challenges have you had as National Ambassador for [...]
