marshall university does not ban books! the information is provided to let people know what has been banned/challenged elsewhere.
2022
lincoln parish library in ruston (la) had a highly contentious board meeting which led to an agreement that the library “will adhere to its policy and refrain from censoring any book on the basis of race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, or political views.” all previously removed titles (wings of fire (series); mommy, mommy and me; my two dads; my two moms; real sisters pretending; the great big book of families; a tale of two dads;jazz jennings: voice for lgbtq youth; snapdragon; meg, jo, beth and amy; george; and rick) would be returned to their regular shelves. The board also stated that “every book within the library was selected to include all members of the diverse community of the parish lincoln’s aia”.
You are reading: Which of these books was not available during the life of george
2021
challenged, banned, and restricted for content that is lgbtqia+, conflicts with a religious viewpoint, and does not reflect “our community’s values.”
several users of the lincoln parish library in ruston (la) complained about george and rick, two books in the children’s room collection with characters lgbtqia+. identical complaints referred to an upcoming mill levy election for the library. while users agreed that none of the books were sexually graphic, they expressed concern that children might find a subject that parents did not want. at a meeting of board members in which there was no quorum, some board members asked the principal to remove the books from the open shelves, making them available only to parents who request them, to appease patrons who they complained. the director complied, but protested that the challengers’ restrictions did not reflect library policy. after this board meeting. a minority of members added 13 additional titles to the complaint: wings of fire (series); mommy, mommy and me; my two dads; my two moms; real sisters pretend; the great great book of families; a tale of two dads;jazz jennings: the voice of lgbtq youth; snapdragon; and meg, jo, beth and amy. news reporters covering the challenge noted that the director had no legal obligation to follow a board decision without a quorum. the library tax has since been defeated; many local citizens apparently used the election to protest what they saw as library censorship. the board subsequently voted to abide by library policy and reinstate the books to the children’s collection.
administration at swarthmore rutledge school in the wallingford-swarthmore (pa) school district (wssd) removed three books with lgbtqia+ protagonists and themes from a fifth grade classroom. none of the three books (ivy aberdeen’s letter to the world, george and when aidan became a brother) dealt with “mature” topics or violent. The books in question were returned to the classroom only after many members of the community, including students, contacted the WSSD administration about their removal and criticized the decision-making process for not being transparent. the district recognized that all books were age and grade appropriate.
2020
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challenged, banned, restricted and hidden to avoid controversies for lgbtqia+ content and a transgender character; because schools and libraries should not “place in a child’s hand books that require discussion”; for sexual references; and for conflicting with a religious viewpoint and a “traditional family structure.”
the scappose(o) school board proposed a resolution to remove george from the list of 16 books for elementary students, a decision that would exclude their students from competing in the battle of oregon volunteer regional or state book contests. no student was required to read the book. following a contentious board meeting, the board defeated the resolution to delist the book in a 5-2 vote.
a customer wrote to the newspaper stating that unlabeled lgbtq books could be found in the children’s area of the independence public library (ks) and should be labeled and removed from that section, including and tango three ago by peter parnell and justin richardson, heather has two mommies by leslea newman, gay and lesbian children’s story by jerome pohlen, my princess boy by cheryl kilodavis, george by alex gino, stella brings the family by miriam schiffer, worm loves worm by j. J. austrian, it’s okay to be different from todd parr, and families from shelly rotner and shelia m. patron kelly stated, “there has to be some kind of censorship in the books available to children. this is just a common sense request.” she was invited to attend a library board meeting. her letter asked others to join her. all nine books have been preserved.
2019
citing “sexual content,” bullying issues, rebellion against the police, and refusing to take medication, george, lily and dunkin by donna gephart, and i am jazz by jazz jennings and jessica herthel were challenged at the andover (ks) public library. the request was to remove the books from the children’s area. after a review process, the library decided to keep them all cataloged. when the parents appealed the decision, the library board voted to retain the books.
the tigard-tualatin school district (king city, or) considered asking for a parental permission slip before allowing elementary students to read gino’s fictional story about a 10-year-old transgender girl whom the world sees like a boy named george. however, some parents opposed the proposal. news reports indicate that the school planned to hold a meeting with staff and parents to review the book and then decide what, if any, action to take. The Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) is a voluntary competition that encourages students to read from a vetted list of books and answer questions in a quiz-style event. Included in the 2018 list was george, a book about a transgender boy. Four elementary schools in the Cascade School District chose to withdraw from the competition. the hermiston school district barred its elementary students from participating in the statewide reading competition, allowing only the district-level competition that did not include george. the bend and tigard-tualatin school districts also discussed participating in the obob with the full reading list. More than 2,000 signatures were collected on a petition to reject any ban on george and other books that provide visibility and support for lgbtqia+ people. the obob executive committee and the oregon school librarians association kept the book on the 2018-2019 reading list.
2018
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Removed from a set of award-winning books that the Wichita School District (KS) purchased for all 57 Wichita Elementary Schools, but which school librarians may purchase with their own funds. The Wichita District Library Media Supervisor stated that the book about a fourth-grade transgender student contains language and references that are not appropriate for young children.
2017
questioned because it includes a transgender child and the “sexuality was not appropriate at the elementary levels”.
on these pages
A prohibited book has been removed from a library, classroom, etc. a prohibited book has been requested to be removed from a library, classroom, etc.
for additional information contact
ron titus, titus@marshall.edu 304-696-6575
last update
August 16, 2022
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