Censorship Roundup

By Staff -- School Library Journal, 3/1/2005

Columbia, SC: Chris Crutcher recently met with South Carolina State Superintendent of Education Inez Moore Tenenbaum about her decision to remove his novel Whale Talk (Greenwillow, 2001) from a sophomore English reading list following parental complaints about its use of profanity. Crutcher defended using such language, saying it honestly reflects the reality of the characters' lives. Whale Talk is about a 17-year-old boy of black and Japanese ancestry who is forced to confront his multicultural heritage.

New Lebanon, OH: Bill Stanley, the father of a student at Dixie Middle School, recently asked the New Lebanon Board of Education to remove The Drowning of Stephan Jones (Bantam, 1991) by Newbery Award-winning author Bette Greene from school library shelves, claiming that its language and subject matter are inappropriate. School Board President Daryl Michael says a committee will review whether the book, about the harassment and eventual death of a gay man, violates any school board policies. Until then, the book will remain on the library's shelves.

Norwood, CO: Norwood School Superintendent Bob Conder recently issued a letter of apology to the students, parents, and staff of Norwood High School for confiscating approximately two dozen copies of Bless Me, Ultima (TQS Publications, 1972) by Rudolfo A. Anaya from freshman English classes. Conder pulled copies of the book, about a young Latino boy's search for spirituality, after receiving parental complaints about its profanity. Students staged a sit-in at the school to protest the move. Conder has since approved the creation of a committee to review controversial issues and to provide guidelines on appropriate curricular materials.