Florida School District Bans Avi Book

By Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 6/16/2008 10:20:00 AM

The Fighting Ground (Lippincott, 1984) by Newbery Award-winning author Avi was banned last week from all elementary library shelves at Florida’s Bay District Schools in Panama City.

The school board voted 3-2 to remove the book, despite a review committee’s recommendation that its language wasn’t “lewd,” says Ginger Littleton, a board member who voted against the ban. A parent complained about profanities in the book—about a 13-year-old boy during the Revolutionary War—but Littleton says they were more of an expression of fright by soldiers.

Brenda Toole, the supervisor of instructional media services, says the review committee was disappointed that the book was pulled. But The Fighting Ground may not be gone for long. According to school board policy, the ban will only be in effect until June 30, the official end of the school year.

“I’ve spent 30 years as a teacher and administrator fighting censorship,” says Littleton, who read the book and found it appropriate for its intended fourth-grade reading level. “Our job isn’t to find books that appeal to every child. Our job is to determine if they’re allowable.”

Avi won the 2003 Newbery Medal for Crispin: The Cross of Lead (Hyperion), an action-filled page-turner set in 14th-century England.

Littleton says the district has a history of book challenges because the community is ultra-conservative. “If a child or parent is offended by a book, put it down and read another one," she adds.