Scholastic Censors Myracle’s ‘Luv Ya Bunches’ from Book Fairs
By Rocco Staino -- School Library Journal,10/21/2009
Don't expect to see Lauren Myracle’s new book Luv Ya Bunches (Abrams/Amulet, 2009) at Scholastic school book fairs this year. It’s been censored—at least for now—due to its language and homosexual content.
Luv Ya Bunches, about four elementary school girls who have little in common, but bond over the fact that they’re all named after flowers, is the first installment of a four-book series. But Scholastic says the book, released on October 1, failed to meet its vetting process because it contains offensive language and same-sex parents of one of the main characters, Milla.
The company sent a letter to Myracle's editor asking the author to omit certain words such as "geez," "crap," "sucks," and "God" (as in, "oh my God") and to alter its plotline to include a heterosexual couple. Myracle agreed to get rid of the offensive language "with the goal—as always—of making the book as available to as many readers as possible," but the deal breaker was changing Milla's two moms.
"A child having same-sex parents is not offensive, in my mind, and shouldn't be 'cleaned up.'" says Myracle, adding that the book fair subsequently decided not to take on Luv Ya Bunches because they wanted to avoid letters of complaint from parents. "I find that appalling. I understand why they would want to avoid complaint letters—no one likes getting hated on—but shouldn't they be willing to evaluate the quality of the complaint? What, exactly, are children being protected against here?"
Myracle, who's no stranger to controversy, has appeared on the American Library Association’s top 10 list of most often challenged authors. Still, she's surprised that Scholastic would shy away from a reality that exists in numerous households across the country.
“Over 200,000 kids in America are raised by same-sex parents, just like Milla. It's not an issue to clean up or hide away,” says Myracle. “In my opinion, it's not an 'issue' at all. The issue, as I see it, is that kids benefit hugely from seeing themselves reflected positively in the books they read. It's an extremely empowering and validating experience."
Scholastic defended the move. “Authors are often given the opportunity to make changes in the books to meet the norms of the various communities that host the fairs,” adds Kyle Good, a Scholastic spokeswoman, explaining that the title will, however, be available in the Scholastic Book Club catalog.
There wasn’t enough time for Scholastic to further review the book before including it in its book fairs, adds Good, but the company will continue monitoring the book’s popularity as well as the input from book fair field representatives to decide whether it should be included in future book fairs.
Last year, a Vancouver, WA, school district stopped sponsoring Scholastic book fairs after a parent complained about the sale of Philip Pullman’s award-winning fantasy novel, The Golden Compass (Knopf, 1996), the first book in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, saying that it was un-Christian. Instead, parent-teacher associations had to sponsor the event.
Good says she’s uncertain whether titles portraying nontraditional families were available for sale at elementary school Scholastic book fairs. But while Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson’s picture book And Tango Makes Three (S & S, 2005) isn’t available for sale at book fairs, it is available on the Scholastic Web site, she adds.
Read the followup: Scholastic to Sell ‘Luv Ya Bunches’ at Middle School Book Fairs
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| Submitted by: | Dan Shafer 10/30/2009 3:37:08 PM PT |
| Location: | Monterey, CA, USA |
| Occupation: | Spiritual teacher and Web technologist |
I wrote Scholastic about this issue. Today I received an email reply assuring me that Luv Ya Bunches will indeed be offered at Scholastic Book Fairs. I'm not sure if the original news story here was premature or just wrong, but the issue at least *appears* to be resolved.
| Submitted by: | Jenny 10/28/2009 10:43:00 AM PT |
| Location: | Louisville, KY |
| Occupation: | Seminary student |
The way it works with books is, if you don't like it, don't buy it. In fact, it seems like it would be smarter to sell it at a fair, where a potential customer can see the whole book before buying it, than in the catalog, where the blurb might not even mention the main characters' family configurations.
I'm guessing this decision was made by middle management at Scholastic. If heads don't roll, at least those responsible should be looking forward to some time at middle managers' re-education camp.
| Submitted by: | Diane LaGrone (dlagrone@austin.utexas.edu) 10/28/2009 9:09:47 AM PT |
| Location: | Austin, TX |
| Occupation: | teacher |
I completely agree that this is bigotry pure and simple. In past years, books that featured ethnicities other than white were excluded; this is no different.
I am a parent, grandparent, conservative Republican, parent of a lesbian who has a child, friend of lesbians who have 3 children. I am also a longtime, 40+year, supporter of Scholastic Book Fairs.
Please rethink this decision.
| Submitted by: | Timm 10/27/2009 9:25:45 PM PT |
| Location: | Kansas City |
| Occupation: | Teacher |
I wonder if Scholastic would have censored a book that features black, hispanic, or (gasp) inter-racial parents.
| Submitted by: | Chester Kallman 10/27/2009 6:33:09 PM PT |
| Location: | New York |
| Occupation: | Writer and Parent |
Kyle, you write that: Scholastic is giving tremendous support to Luv Ya Bunches. In fact, our editors believe in this book so much that it is featured prominently on both the student and teacher covers of our December 2009 Arrow catalogs....
If Scholastic and your editors believe in the book so much, then why did you attempt to alter the plot and remove the same-sex parents? When I believe in something, I don't try and change it.
How about another spin?
| Submitted by: | CC 10/27/2009 3:41:23 PM PT |
| Location: | West Virginia |
| Occupation: | Teacher |
This is really upsetting. Please do not censor children's books to exclude loving, productive members of our culture just because they are gay. There are many, many children being raised in healthy, loving homes by same sex couples. All children at all ages deserve to see that represented in books.
| Submitted by: | Erin van Hiel 10/27/2009 2:41:43 PM PT |
| Location: | Hamilton, Ontario |
| Occupation: | Teacher |
I find this very upsetting. I am a teacher and regularly order hundreds of dollars worth of books and other items from Scholastic. I've run book fairs and patronized them for many years; it's one of the highlights of the school year. For many kids, it's the easiest access they have to books of their own.
I'd like to see all books that are available in the catalogue or on the website also be available in the book fair. At that point, it's up to parents whether or not they purchase them for their children. If they don't like it, nobody is forcing them to buy it.
I'll be emailing Scholastic about this directly, with my customer number, and let them decide if my business is worth keeping.
| Submitted by: | Chris Ameigh (cameigh@yahoo.com) 10/27/2009 12:17:07 PM PT |
| Location: | Syracuse, NY |
| Occupation: | TM |
As a legally married lesbian and parent of a 3 year old I find it increasingly frustrating that my daughter can not easily access books with families that resemble her own when they are available. Shame on you Scholatic for playing into politics and alienating children from families that are not what you would deem as "traditional". Let parents decide what is ok for their children to read. If they do not like it, then do not buy it.
| Submitted by: | Alex 10/27/2009 9:40:28 AM PT |
| Location: | Amherst |
| Occupation: | freelance writer |
Lesbians are the number one book buyers in the US, per the independent market survey OUT Magazine did for ad clients. Way to alienate them, Scholastic. There may be more straight moms and dads, but they don't buy as many books as lesbian moms.
| Submitted by: | Alison Cassidy 10/27/2009 2:12:05 AM PT |
| Location: | Santa Clara, CA |
| Occupation: | Engineer |
I'd like to see a clear statement from Scholastic on <i>exactly</I> what
happened here, as the commentary from Kyle does not tally with the
report here.
As a same-sex parent of a middle-schooler here in Santa Clara, I
certainly intend to bring this up with our school as this sort of blatant
bigotry would not be tolerated for one minute. Hatred or dismissal of
others not like us is not one of the values I'd like to see instilled in my
children, and censoring books in this manner is particularly insidious.
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