Censorship Roundup

By Staff -- School Library Journal, 5/1/2005

Fargo, ND: The Fargo (ND) School Board has voted against removing the novel Mick Harte Was Here (Knopf, 1995) by Barbara Park from the Centennial Elementary School library, despite parent complaints about the book's content. Mark and Pamela Herschlip, parents of a fourth grader at Centennial, had requested the book's removal due to what they called inappropriate themes and language. Following district guidelines, Principal Robert Rhola had convened a committee to review the award-winning novel, the story of a 13-year-old girl who must cope with the death of her younger brother. The committee declined to order the book's removal, which prompted the couple to file an appeal with the board. Fargo Superintendent David Flowers says that the board found Mick Harte Was Here appropriate for grades four and above, reports the Associated Press. According to the American Library Association, the book has been challenged five times since 1998—the same year it received the William Allen White Children's Book Award.

New Ipswich, NH: The mother of a 10th-grade student at Mascenic High School has filed a complaint with school officials against Dangerous Angels (HarperCollins, 1998) by Francesca Lia Block, saying the book was inappropriate for her daughter's age group. The parent, Vicki Manning, called the book "disgusting," according to the Nashua Telegraph. The teacher who assigned the book, Penny Culliton, has used Dangerous Angels in her curriculum for the last two years. Culliton has previously received complaints about books on her reading lists, and in 1995, was fired from her post at Mascenic for teaching books containing homosexual characters, including Maurice (Norton, 1993) by E. M. Forster. She won her job back a year later, after supporters, including the National Writers Union, protested her dismissal. In 1996, Culliton received the Pro-Quest K–12 Intellectual Freedom Award. Mascenic Principal Craig Mueller says Manning's complaint had been considered by the school's curriculum committee and would now be considered by Superintendent Francine Fullam.