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I know Banned Books Week officially took place way back in September, but recently there’s been a couple of literary showdowns over in Iowa and it seemed like it might be time for a refresher course in why it’s so important to have the freedom to choose what we read. That said, here are two stories about titles currently ruffling Hawkeye feathers:

‘And Tango Makes Three’
A parent of an elementary school student in Ankeny, Iowa protested the placement of the book “And Tango Makes Three,” by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson in the school library saying that the story “normalized’ homosexuality by featuring two male penguins raising a chick together. If this argument sounds familiar that may be because it’s the same one reportedly invoked by Governor Sarah Palin (a losing strategy if there ever was one) when the then-mayor of Wasilla took offense at “Daddy’s Roommate” back in the day.

The Iowa parents’ suggestions for how to handle the award-winning title? If the district wouldn’t remove the book altogether, the couple asked for it to either be relocated to a “parent-only” section or to be more clearly marked by a red dot (the couple deemed the current “homosexuality-juvenile fiction” designation on the title page as “too obscure.”) Fortunately, other members in the community, including school Superintendent Matthew Wendt, haven’t gone for these attempts to stigmatize the book and its potential readers. Instead Wendt recommended that the book not be banned. He also proposed that “the board consider adopting a new selection process for library materials, and that any new process take into consideration age-appropriateness of materials.”

‘Thirteen Reasons Why’
A second flurry of commotion was set off by a Spanish teacher in North Polk, Iowa who decided to read an excerpt from Jay Asher’s “Thirteen Reasons Why” aloud to a high school class of sophomores, juniors and seniors. Now what a Spanish teacher was doing reading an English-language book aloud to high school students I don’t know, but it sounds like she was sensitive about the subject matter, warning students beforehand of the sexual nature of the material (apparently this was the point of contention and not the book’s focus on suicide.) She gave them the option to read another book or leave the room. And yet, when the mother of a 16 year-old student who chose to stay overheard her daughter talking about the book with friends, she decided to take things up with the school board.

Regardless of what happens at those board meetings (most likely teachers will be issued a warning to be more discerning about the material they read aloud in the future,) I’m going to guess that the newfound scandal itself will probably inspire a lot more North Polk teens to pick it up. And what are the chances they’ll submit it for parental approval? Not likely. But at that age when it comes to age-appropriate material is that completely necessary? While I haven’t personally read it yet myself (and this certainly does make me more curious,) from the reviews I’ve seen– including ones written by librarians and teachers alike– it sounds like a worthy, thought-provoking book for YA readers.

Thoughts?

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Categorized under: Books & Print, Books Freestyle

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