Censorship Roundup

By Staff -- School Library Journal, 3/1/2004

Sanford, FL: The Seminole County (FL) school board voted January 27 to retain the Newbery Medal–winning novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Dial, 1976) in the middle school curriculum, despite parental concern over its racial violence. The board, however, now requires teachers who use the Mildred Taylor book to attend training sessions on how to present the novel to students. Debra and Thomas Drake, parents of a 13-year-old who attends Chiles Middle School, said it hurt their child to hear the word "nigger" used during class discussion of the book.

Washington Township, NJ: The Washington Township (NJ) school district is considering a parental request to restrict the access of elementary and middle schoolers to "satanic" books in their libraries. Tahir and Wanda Mella, parents of a 14-year-old boy, object to The Devil: Opposing Viewpoints (Greenhaven, 1992) by Thomas Schouweiler and The Devil's Storybook (Farrar, 1974) by Natalie Babbitt. The Mellas have formed a group called National Concerned Citizens for Youth, which plans a national campaign against the presence of "satanic" and occult-related books in school libraries and bookstores.

West Salem, WI: A grandfather is making a big stink over William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray's Walter the Farting Dog (Frog, 2001). Maynard Carlson, who objects to the picture book's focus on flatulence, has asked for Walter's removal from the West Salem Elementary School library, where his grandson is a student. Carlson, a former West Salem school board member, has kept the school library's copy of the book, which he read aloud to the board in January. The board will vote on whether or not to remove the book permanently.