Censorship Roundup

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Staff -- School Library Journal, 07/01/2003

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Ottawa, Canada: The Canadian Library Association presented Surrey kindergarten teacher James Chamberlain with the 2003 Award for the Advancement of Intellectual Freedom in Canada June 5. Chamberlain, who sought to use three books in class depicting same-sex parents, took his case to the Canadian Supreme Court, which ruled in December 2002 that the Surrey school board violated the schools' secular status by banning the books from the classroom. "I'm so grateful to all the librarians who were steadfast in their support of these books and of our efforts to have them," says Chamberlain. The school board voted June 12 to uphold the ban on Asha's Mums (Women's Press, 1990) by Rosamund Elwin, Belinda's Bouquet (1991) by Lesléa Newman, and One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dads, Blue Dads by Johnny Valentine (1994, both Alyson Publications).

Riverside, CA: A review committee has rejected a proposed ban on Dav Pilkey's The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby (Scholastic, 2002) from classrooms and libraries of the Riverside Unified School District. The committee voted June 12 to retain the popular title, despite grandparent Sue Santi's claim that the book's scatological humor and bad spelling make it inappropriate for kids. Parent and committee member Sue Tavaglione told the L.A. Times, "I don't like the idea of poop being in the story. But it's pretty creative and a lot of students are reading it." Santi had filed a complaint in May, after she saw her grandson drawing Deputy Doo Doo, a character from the book.

Shawnee Mission, KS: A review panel of the Shawnee Mission School District has ruled that the 1960 film Inherit the Wind will remain on district library shelves, despite a parent's complaint that the film is offensive to Christians. The 12-member panel, which included a student, parents, and teachers, voted unanimously June 4 to maintain the film in the library's collection, but cautioned against using the film as part of the science curriculum. Parent Celtie Johnson says the panel's decision supports her assertion that the film inaccurately portrays the 1925 Scopes "monkey trial" with its negative depiction of conservative Christians. The film dramatizes the trial of Tennessee teacher John T. Scopes, who was accused of violating state law by teaching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.