Censorship Roundup

Cleveland, TN: The Bradley County school board has called for mandatory content warnings in select high school library books, following a review committee's decision to restore a challenged book to the Walker Valley High School library. The board directed school librarians to develop a high school book-rating system after a committee denied a parent's effort to ban Peter Abrahams's Last of the Dixie Heroes (Ballantine, 2001). Parent Gloria Murphy, who objected to the book's sexual passages and foul language, launched an appeal at a June board meeting, where members reaffirmed the committee's decision to keep the book but decided to install a rating system similar to one already in place for area middle schools.

Gig Harbor, WA: The Peninsula school board recently declined to act on a couple's request to remove David Guterson's novel Snow Falling on Cedars (Harcourt, 1994) and John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany (Morrow, 1989) from high school Advanced Placement English classes. Jimand Barbara Patterson, whose 16-year-old daughter attends Peninsula High School, asked to ban the books due to sexually explicit passages and anti-Christian content. The bestselling Snow Falling on Cedars was among ALA's 10 most challenged books of 1999.

New Haven, CT: The New Haven school district has pulled three popular novels from high school libraries, pending a review to determine whether they are appropriate reading. The district organized a committee in July to review Push (Knopf, 1996) by Sapphire, Flyy Girl (S & S, 1996) by Omar Tyree, and The Coldest Winter Ever (Pocket Star, 1999) by Sister Souljah. District library director Regina Warner says a parent had complained about Push to a librarian. All three books are coming-of-age stories about young African-American girls.