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From Teton Valley News:

The evening culminated in an emotional and convicted apology from Woolstenhulme, who admitted to acting hastily in suspending “Bless Me, Ultima” from the curriculum without following the proper procedures dictated by district policy 4120. He said he breeched the trust of the high school staff and the administration under his supervision.

“It’s very important to build trust in our community and in our school district, and I take responsibility for times this year when either my actions or decisions I think have broken down that trust,” said Woolstenhulme in his final recommendation and closing statement to those in attendance. “I recognize that I acted hastily on this, and I see the concern and the issue that the teachers have…[Policy 4120] is the guide that I recognize, I admit and I apologize, I should have been following very specifically. The teachers were working through it, Mr. Mello was working through it and I’m the one that failed and did not follow this policy. That being said, I would recommend that we do allow the English department to use this book. We can go through this grievance policy with those people that have these concerns.”

From Publishing Perspectives:

It’s not just the fact of censorship — it’s more the way the censorship works. Speak to any bookseller – and, sadly, there aren’t many in Doha – and they all tell you the same story. At the moment, retailers have to submit one copy of every title they receive to the Ministry of Culture for approval, even if the same book has already been approved for another retailer. It’s an Orwellian situation that is not without a comic side. “We’re still waiting for clearance for The Gruffalo even though it’s for sale elsewhere,” said Richard Peers-Weaver, Purchasing Manager of WHSmith, with a weary smile. “We have around 70% of our stock still tied up at the Ministry awaiting approval. It’s very frustrating, particularly when we have customers coming in and expecting to see certain things.”

If nothing else, click through to see the picture of the Doha skyline: it's VERY cool.

From WBNG12:

Johnson City, NY (WBNG Binghamton) When Johnson City parent Jeannette Farr saw what her eight-year-old daughter was reading, she was shocked.

Illustrations of soldiers bombing villages, and terrorists kidnapping a girls father were just a few of the details Farr couldn't believe her third-grader was reading.

"It's scary. We don't have guns in our house, my kids don't see guns, my kids don't watch the news," Farr said.

...

Although each story has a positive message, Farr says the illustrations are too much.

"I was surprised at how graphic the photos were," she said.

She even suggested banning the books, at least for elementary school students.

Not that anyone is infallible, but SLJ suggests both books for grades 2-4 and Booklist suggests Nasreen for grades 2-4 and Basra for grades 3-5. Anyway. Yes, fine: if a parent chooses to not have guns in the house and to avoid the news, that's her choice, etc., etc. But to expect an entire classroom—an entire SCHOOL—to conform to one's own personal worldview is just ridiculous.

No one person is the center of the universe, and in the Heat of the Moment, I think we all tend to occasionally forget that.

From The Journal:

Jefferson County Schools has discontinued the use of a controversial book being read by about 120 students at Harpers Ferry Middle School, said Pat Blanc, an assistant superintendent who oversees curriculum and instruction.

As a result, students are no longer reading "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Native American author Sherman Alexie.

"We checked and it was not on the state-approved list of books, so it should have gone through the process for approval in the county. But that didn't happen," Blanc said.

This sounds a lot like the recent story about Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close in Iowa: book is challenged mid-way through an assignment, school realizes that the book hasn't gone through whatever administrative rigmarole it should have gone through, they pull the book, multiple classes have to stop reading a book halfway through and start the unit all over again with a different book.

I understand that it's important for the teachers to follow the guidelines for getting books cleared in the first place—that way, for one thing, there'd (hopefully) be a more clear path when challenges happen—but it seems like it would be far less disruptive to have allowed the challenger's son to switch assignments, have everyone else finish the Alexie, AND THEN send the book off to get cleared or whatever. It just seems like they chose the path that was the most fraught with confusion and the least conducive to learning.

But, who knows, maybe there are legal ramifications that I'm unaware of.

From the Index on Censorship:

Last Tuesday (26 Nov) representatives from the country’s Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice — the Haya’a — raided several bookshops selling the novel H W J N by Ibraheem Abbas and Yasser Bahjatt’s, demanding it’d be taken off the shelves. H W J N is a “fantasy, sci-fi and romance” novel about a genie who falls in love with a human, and is a best-seller in Saudi Arabia.

Our source, who wishes to remain anonymous, says the book is charged with “blasphemy and devil-worshiping”. They add that the ban appears to stem from a Facebook post accusing the novel of “referencing jinn [genies] and leading teenage girls to experiment with Ouija boards”.

Jinn and Ouija boards? Well, heck. Now *I* want to read it.

From the Des Moines Register:

Classroom copies of a novel about a 9-year-old boy whose father died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were removed last week from an Ankeny school following questions from a parent about the book’s content.

...

Assistant Superintendent Jill Urich said the novel was removed from ninth-grade classrooms at Northview Middle School because the title had not received school board approval for use in the district’s English curriculum.

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” published in 2005, continues to be available in the school library, she noted.

“It was not pulled for the content; it was pulled because it had not yet been board approved,” Urich said.

The district is in the process of developing a new curriculum approval process, she said. The earliest the book could go before the board for consideration would be in two months.

While the Assistant Superintendent made a point of stating that the book wasn't pulled for content, I do think it's interesting that it A) was pulled immediately after there was a complaint about content, B) was pulled in the middle of an assignment, forcing 60 students (not to mention their teacher/s) to pull up stakes and switch assignments mid-stream C) was pulled before a decision was made about whether or not it was deemed 'appropriate', which falls into 'guilty-until-proven-innocent' territory, D) was used in classrooms last year, presumably without any issue, despite the lack of board approval.

I hope every other book being used in classrooms at Northview Middle School has board approval, and I hope that they have a decent challenge policy in place after this. Otherwise, it could be a long, annoying ride for the students, the teachers, and the administration.

From the Star Tribune:

Anoka High Principal Mike Farley selected and chaired the book review committee, per district policy. Farley announced their decision Friday.

“The group liked the book. They felt the writing was skillful. We talked a lot about the key themes in the book: bullying, poverty, abuse, love, body image and the power of language,” Farley said. “They felt the high school students would relate to the themes and be familiar with the language.

“We did acknowledge some of the language is rough, but it fits the situation and the characters,” he said. “If you did remove that, it wouldn’t be the same.”

Previously.

File this one under IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME.

From Lex18:

"If my child picked up the book out of the library, then your child has the ability to do it too," said Bennet. I Hunt Killers was on the Henry Clay High School reading list, along with dozens of other books. Bennett's son chose it from the school library, but she wants to know why it was even an option.

...

Now Bennett said the book needs to go, and parents need to be kept in the loop. Therefore, school officials are taking a closer look at the list, but want everyone to remember one thing. "You never can judge a book by its cover," said Quenon.

Fayette County Schools said no student is required to read I Hunt Killers, it is simply a book they can choose.

Which reminds me, I really need to read the sequel.

At School Library Journal:

Last week, several of Watauga County’s commissioners even stepped into the fray. Commissioner David Blust, called for a book rating system and argued that the book offered no life lessons. “It’s filth…. Honestly, what normal family is like this book? The Manson family, maybe, Ted Bundy? I think this is just so wrong,” he told the local Watauga Democrat.

Another, Chairman Nathan Miller, said the book’s inclusion in the curriculum was such an “egregious violation” that he recommended the district dispense with its usual book review policy. And Commissioner Perry Yates called the book “despicable.”

THE MANSONS? TED BUNDY? SERIOUSLY?

ALSO. WHAT'S THE POINT OF HAVING A CHALLENGE POLICY IF DUDES JUST WANT TO THROW IT UNDER THE BUS WHENEVER THEY, PERSONALLY, DON'T LIKE THE BOOK? BAH.

Anyway. So, you know: the conversation has apparently gotten a tad heated.

From Allende's letter (which is reprinted in its entirety at SLJ:

As you know, it takes just one parent who disapproves of a book to pressure the school and eventually the Board of Education. In this case one person has circulated fragments of the novel—taken out of context—among parents who probably have not read the book. The fragments refer mostly to sexual content. The plan is to gather support to ban the book completely, even as optional reading. Since today TV series, movies, videogames and comics exploit sex and violence, including torture and rape, as forms of entertainment, I don’t think that young adults will be particularly offended by the strong scenes from The House of the Spirits, which are always part of the historical and political content of the novel.

From the Teton Valley News:

The English department unanimously selected to include this piece on the sophomores’ required reading list, a decision endorsed by High School Principal Frank Mello. Since Sunday, Nov. 3, fierce debate has enshrouded this decision that began with a Facebook post by Shaylee Kearsley.

Kearsley’s post read, “Those parents that have sophomores in Mrs. Pence’s class, they are reading a terrible book called Bless Me, Ultima. Please scan through the book, ask your child. It is a terrible book and my son will not read another page of it. This is a mandatory read. They are half way done with it. We will be talking to the principal and Mrs. Pence tomorrow about banning the book.(ed.)”

In case you're wondering, yes, the school DID offer an alternative read: Wuthering Heights. 

Heh. I love that Wuthering Heights passes as "non-objectionable". 

Anyway, in case you'd forgotten, we've been on this ride before: seven years ago, in Colorado. THAT one was fun (<--To watch from afar. I doubt very much that it was remotely fun for the teachers.), as it resulted in a LOT of protesting by students, including a sit-in.

From Indian Country Today:

Student Bryce Curry—a friend of Chad’s—said although he’s white, the story provided a window to him into the lives of Native Americans as it cleared up misconceptions and prejudices locals have.

“You know the parts that are ‘controversial’ and ‘offensive’? They’re meant to be offensive for a reason: to show that yes, prejudices do happen. The racism and prejudices Natives face is real. It’s not in the past, it’s in the present, and will remain in the future unless we openly discuss it in classrooms and show why it is wrong.”

The school board voted unanimously to keep Part-time Indian in the curriculum.

From the State Port Pilot:

Others who spoke on the issue included county commissioners Marty Cooke and Pat Sykes, both of whom expressed a desire to see the book removed. Sykes said the county did not need to be like UNC-Wilmington or the schools in Wilmington.

“As you see in Wilmington, with UNC-Wilmington, and all the crime, the shooting and everything going on over there, everybody worries about them coming over here to Brunswick County. Well, I can tell you, if you continue with the sex and the profanity, the gangs will come, and they will come and there will be no stopping it. There will be shootings, because violence brings violence,” Sykes said.

O.o

Semi-relatedly.

From the Billings Gazette:

From the Scranton Times-Tribune:

At a school board meeting in October, Gary Butler spoke on behalf of a sophomore at Riverside Junior Senior High School, challenging the inclusion of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon on summer reading lists. He requested the book be removed because of instances of profanity within the text.

"We're going to keep the book," Superintendent Paul Brennan said in a meeting with English teachers and principals Friday afternoon. "We had safeguards in place where the child did not have to pick that book."

...after a TWELVE-YEAR ABSENCE:

On Tuesday the Plaquemines Parish School Board lifted a 12-year ban on the novel "To Kill A Mockingbird."

The controversy resurfaced in early October after teachers were discovered reading the book to students.

Now the school board says it will review its policies regarding textbooks and other reading materials.

The novel by Harper Lee has been a staple in American literature classes for decades.

Yeesh, I realize I've been behind in my news reading, but I hadn't realized I was THAT behind.

A few other related links:

Classic book's ban reinforced by school board

To Kill a Mockingbird Re-banned in Louisiana School District (<--This one is especially good, as they did some research into the original situation that resulted in the ban.)

ACLU asks Plaquemines Parish to lift 'To Kill a Mockingbird' ban

Open letter on the Plaquemines Parish School Board's ban of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (<--Open letter from the Louisiana ACLU)

Set 'To Kill A Mockingbird Free' in Plaquemines Parish Schools (<--Open letter from the NCAC)

From the Virginian-Pilot:

Aydlett resident Elissa Cooper asked to have "A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl" removed from the Currituck County High School library after her freshman daughter brought it home to read last February.

"My chances may not be very good, but I believe it is a worthwhile argument," Cooper said by phone Friday. "I'm prepared, and I know 100 percent it is wrong."

I loved that book. And I totally predicted that it would not go over well with some parents.

Woo, me.

Meg Medina has company!

Rainbow Rowell was ALSO recently uninvited from a speaking engagement:

Until we got involved in the issue, Rainbow Rowell couldn’t be 100% sure she had even been disinvited. The teachers and librarians had showed great enthusiasm at the outset, but as the date of her visit drew near, she was given mixed messages about her contract there and eventually came up against a communications freeze. A parent had lodged a challenge to profanity in the book and asked that the librarians who organized the talk to be punished. They riled up an action group (with experience in censorship) to organize against the author at the level of the County Board. The order came down. The talk was nixed and librarians were asked not to speak on the topic.

From the CBC:

Dereen filed a complaint to the library to get the book, and others like them, removed from the shelves or moved to a separate section free from the gaze of children. The library responded by saying that it did not plan to change its policies, and that the child’s guardian is ultimately responsible for the books he or she wants to check out.

Dereen then turned to Fox 59 in the hopes that it would help sway public opinion in her favour.

Is it just me, or is the dude's arm on the book cover INSANELY THIN?

Anyway, my favorite thing about this whole story is that the kid checked the book out thinking that it was about video game cheat codes. Because... well, again, I direct your attention to the cover art.

From the Houston Chronicle:

Also, the American Library Association, which tracks books prohibited in schools, says it has no record of "Dreaming in Cuba" being banned.

The book that follows three generations of women during the Cuban Revolution was pulled from classrooms after a parent, Debbie Stoner, took her son out of his 10th-grade English class after students were asked to read sexually explicit passages aloud.

Barbara Hansen, a former Sierra Vista elementary school teacher, told the board Tuesday that the book seemed like "child pornography."

"We're bludgeoning their souls with this kind of material. It's debauchery, and it's just not worthy of our students," Hansen said.

Haven't read it, so can't comment on the specifics of the challenge. I have no doubt that there is sexual content in the book, but as we've seen in the past, the definition of 'sexually explicit' and even 'inappropriate' ranges rather dramatically depending on who you're talking to.

I have noticed lately, though, that people have been VERY quick to start slinging the 'child pornography' label around.

From ABC:

Author Meg Medina's appearance at a school has been canceled due to her new book's controversial title.

Her latest young adult novel, "Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass" is the story of girl's unraveling as she navigates being in the crosshairs of a bully. 

Huh.

SO, GUESS WHAT I JUST ORDERED?

ALSO, IF THE ASS-FEARING BIGWIGS HAD DONE A MODICUM OF RESEARCH BEFORE OKAYING THE EVENT IN THE FIRST PLACE, THEY COULD HAVE SAVED THEMSELVES AN ASS-LOAD OF EMBARRASSMENT.

I mean, DUH.

Also, ASS.

UGH:

Clarke Co. School Board refuses to ban profane book

Like, who thinks that's a good idea? Journalistically, not clickbaitily?

IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING NON-JUDGEMENTAL:

School board won't bar book couple wanted removed

I mean, nothing about that second one screams I'M TAKING A SIDE to me. A couple. Wanted a book removed. From a school. The board said no.

Or am I missing some angle?

PLUS. That first link? Has one of those videos that starts automatically. So that's annoying, too.

From Comic Book Resources:

The school board in the Japanese city of Matsue has restricted student access to Keiji Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen, the autobiographical story of a six-year-old boy who survived the Hiroshima bombing.

The board ruled that the book will remain in elementary and junior high school libraries but only teachers will have access to it; students will not be allowed to check it out.

From an interview at Blogging Censorship that is, unsurprisingly, mostly about the many challenges to The Perks of Being a Wallflower—which is an interesting enough topic on its own, BUT:

What are you working on now?
I’m writing my second book, which I hope to adapt to a film as well. We’ll see.

Tell us a little about it.
It’s very close to Perks emotionally and thematically, but it’s told in a completely different genre. I’ve called it a very loving tribute to my favorite writer of all time, who is Stephen King. So it’s taking all these things, and these emotional issues that I was dealing with in Perks, and it’s putting quite a spin on it.

Ooooooooo.

From Fox News:

A local mother says a reading assignment given to her 10th grade student is inappropriate. LaDawn Leek says the book her daughter was told to read –Girl, Interrupted – features graphic descriptions of sex acts, violence, suicide and more.

According to the assigment posted at the school's website, students are allowed to pick one book from a list that's two-and-a-half pages long. 

Girl, Interrupted is NOT required reading.

It is ONE OPTION OF MANY.

(Of course, based on the complaint, there are plenty of other books on the list that are likely to raise Ms. Leek's eyebrows, so this story could have just as easily been about The Kite Runner or Perks of Being a Wallflower or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time or The Fault in Our Stars or Watchmen or Speak. I'm not sure how Speak ended up in the SF/F section, but that's another conversation.)

Anyway, despite the fact that this was NOT required reading, despite the fact that there are plenty of other books to choose from, despite the fact that her family's worldview and beliefs might not be exactly the same as every other family in the district, and despite the fact that the following note is RIGHT THERE ON THE LIST:

*Parents, although all of the books on the list below have literary merit, some may be suitable for more mature students. We urge you, therefore, to carefully review the list and to help your son or daughter make a selection that is appropriate for his or her interests, age, reading level, and maturity.

Ms. Leek plans to formally challenge the book and have it removed not just from the list, but from the school.

So, you know: WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

If that is truly what the complainant got out of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian—if, of course, she actually read the whole thing, which is never a safe assumption in these cases—I weep for the state of her reading comprehension.

From the New York Daily News:

Bowing to pressure from the outraged parents and after inquiries from the Daily News, the principal of Public School/Middle School 114 in Rockaway Park announced Wednesday that “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” was no longer required reading.

All incoming sixth-graders had been expected to write a graded-essay on the book, parents said.

A discussion about whether or not The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is the right fit for a required reading assignment for sixth graders? Totally worth having.

Labelling it a "book on masturbation"? COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS.

That's like saying, I dunno, that To Kill a Mockingbird is about ham.

Or The Hunger Games is about archery.

Or that Inexcusable is about soccer.

Or that The Outsiders is about robbing grocery stores.

All of those books feature those elements, but THEY ARE NOT DEFINED BY THEM.

Anyway, AUUUUUUUGH.