Censorship Roundup

Leicester, MA: A dispute over the popular "Captain Underpants" series has caused the postponement of the annual book fair at Primary and Memorial elementary schools. Last month's fund-raiser was canceled by its organizers, the Leicester School Volunteers, due to Scholastic Book Fairs' inclusion of the Dav Pilkey books. Donna McCance, the director of volunteers, feels that the series' latest title, Captain Under pants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman, is particularly objectionable. Responding to an image that shows the wicked wedgie woman sticking her hand down a boy's pants to yank his underwear, McCance told the Worcester Telegram, "That's definitely not appropriate when you're trying to focus on character education." When McCance requested that Scholastic delete advertising for the Underpants books from its fair's promotional fliers, the company refused. McCance will seek another vendor for a book fair later in the year.

Pinellas County, FL: A school community panel has deemed The Chocolate War (Pantheon, 1974) an appropriate book for a class of advanced eighth-graders at Dunedin Highland Middle School. The seven-member panel of teachers and parents convened after a concerned parent, Chuck Fonsell, challenged Robert Cormier's controversial novel, which had been assigned to Fonsell's 13-year-old daughter. Fonsell, who objected to the book's sexual scenes, plans to appeal the decision. For now, his daughter is reading an alternative book, The Outsiders (Viking, 1967) by S. E. Hinton.

Brooksville, FL: After a student was offended by the prison rape scenes in a story that was the basis for the film The Shawshank Redemption , the West Hernando Middle School limited access to a second Stephen King book. In a recent decision by a committee of parents, students, and staff, Different Seasons (Viking, 1982) will now be kept in a room accessible only to teachers. Students who wish to check out the compilation of four King stories must have parental approval. Three years ago, West Hernando dealt similarly with King's novel Cujo (Viking, 1981), which prompted a complaint by a student over the book's sexual content. The challenge to Cujo was highly unusual, according to ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom, because the formal request for review was made directly by a student, rather than parents, who initiate most book challenges.