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X-Rated Children's Books
Judith Kreitzer
X-Rated Children’s Books This letter exchange was reprinted from the X - Rated Children's Books Newsletter, edited and published by Judith Kreitzer (under the pseudonym RoseEtta Stone). The newsletter, however, is no longer being written, as its author opened an online book shop, which is now out of business.
DECEMBER 23, 2002, VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1
4 OUT OF 4 EXPERTS AGREE: A ‘Panel of Experts’ speaks to parents who don’t believe in censorship, yet inadvertently find themselves embroiled in a 'should or shouldn't I let my daughter/son read this book' dilemma. And aren't sure how to handle the you-versus-your child-AND-his-or-her-school authorities, situation. But don't know where, or whom to turn to for help.
In the September issue of the newsletter I reprinted a letter from Nuna Alberts, one of our subscribers who, if you remember, was upset because a school librarian gave her daughter a novel that she felt was inappropriate for a girl her age to read.
In October I reprinted Nuna's follow-up letter, which was so poignantly written, particularly her last paragraph: "But here is the ultimate problem:" her letter's conclusion asserted, "I CONTINUE TO FUME. In my mind, I wonder why this librarian still has her job. If she gave the book to my daughter without reading it, she is incompetent. If she gave it to her having read it, she is cruel. I can't help wanting to take this further because I cannot imagine that it doesn't signal a greater problem. But I do not know how to do that without being misunderstood and having my concern and care as a mother negatively backfire on my daughter. So my plan is to sit and stew and watch what she reads as carefully as I can."
After that I attempted to convene a "panel" of authorities in the censorship field, who were willing to offer Nuna advice. All of the individuals I contacted did not choose to respond. My heartfelt thanks and appreciation go to the four wonderful ones who, not only took the time and trouble to help Nuna, but did so by writing comprehensive letters replete with well-researched and documented, thought provoking, multiple perspective, step-by-step censorship dispute resolution expertise.
Collectively their letters constitute a self-help Bible (if you will), that all parents with kids in pre-school through senior high school grades should read, heed, save, and refer to as they navigate the potentially explosive, repercussive, ramification and consequence-filled censorship battle mine fields.
LETTER from Joan Bertin of the National Coalition Against Censorship.
Nuna Alberts writes that she is furious about the fact that a school librarian recommended What Girls Learn, by Karin Cook, to her 11-year-old daughter. She is not satisfied that the librarian has been reprimanded; she wants her fired.
The ostensible question is whether an 11-year-old is too young to read material recommended for teen readers. Many, but not all, preteens are ready for such material. The librarian apparently thinks Nuna's daughter is, or she may have had positive feedback from other students or librarians about the book. The real question may be who gets to decide what Nuna's daughter reads.
What Girls Learn is a coming-of-age story about two sisters, 11 and 12, whose adolescence is marked by dislocation and tragedy. While there is some sexual content, it occupies a relatively small place in the novel. According to a review in the New York Times Book Review, it is an "achingly nuanced depiction of a young girl's fierce love for her brave mother."
VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates, a library magazine for young adult (YA librarians and educators) says it is "just right for girls who are mature and perceptive...There is plenty here to fuel discussion, and younger, less mature YA’s—especially those who identify with the sisters—might require that; older teen readers will likely be more inclined to work through the questions and frustrations on their own." The book earned the American Library Association's "Alex Award" for the top ten adult books for teens.
Nuna had many other options besides censoring her daughter's reading: she could have read and discussed the book with her, asked the librarian for advice about how to help her child negotiate the story, recommended it for her "mother-daughter" book club, or suggested that her daughter read it with a friend so she would have someone to discuss it with. At a minimum, she could have told her she thought it might be too grown-up, and that she should read it in a year or two when she would understand it better.
By forbidding her daughter to read the book, however, Nuna conveyed not only her lack of confidence in her daughter's ability to deal with a realistic story of a girl her own age experiencing events that occur in real life, but also a fear of books, the imagination, fantasy, and curiosity about the unfamiliar or frightening aspects of life. What does Nuna think would have happened if her daughter had actually read the book?
What is most disturbing is Nuna's demand that the librarian be fired for recommending a book that Nuna thinks is unsuitable. By that logic, librarians all over the country would be out of work, for recommending Harry Potter, Huck Finn, Sophie's Choice, Sari Says, Seventeen Magazine, and countless other items that some parent, somewhere, objects to. In our view, librarians who challenge and stretch young readers' minds should get awards, not reprimands.
Joan E. Bertin, Executive Director
National Coalition Against Censorship
275 7th Avenue, 9th floor, New York, NY 10001
Tel: 212-807-6222; Fax: 212-807-6245
e-mail:
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) is an alliance of 51 national non-profit organizations, including religious, educational, professional, artistic, labor, and civil rights groups, committed to defending freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression. For more information about NCAC, visit us on-line at www.ncac.org.
* This was Joan Bertin's noteworthy addendum to her first letter:
I think she's missing something about intellectual freedom, which is the willingness/ability to confront and engage ideas. Also, warnings about "disturbing" books tell readers how they're supposed to react and deprive them of the opportunity to experience their own spontaneous responses. While warnings may sometimes be appropriate, I personally prefer for librarians (and parents) to teach children that reading is the best and safest way to explore even scary events and ideas, and that they don't need to be fearful about what's between the covers of a book.
LETTER from Destiny Burns, founder of the Right to Read Coalition in Fairfax, Virginia
Nuna, you first have to ask yourself one question... do you believe that the librarian who recommended this book to your daughter did so out of some deliberate and malicious intent to corrupt her or otherwise harm her? Did she knowingly do this against your wishes?
If you can answer "No" to these questions, then your course of action as a parent, in my opinion, should have been to openly talk to the librarian about your concerns and clearly express your expectations to her for her future interactions and recommendations to your daughter.
You are the adult, you are the parent, and no matter how much your daughter begged you not to embarrass her by doing this, this is exactly what I would have done in your shoes. As parents, sometimes we have to swallow the bitter pill for our children's welfare. I believe that going straight to the principal without first discussing your concerns with the librarian was counterproductive to your original intent and outrage, as I think you found out once you were in the Principal's office. Going back to her now, after the fact, is much harder to do productively. I suspect this is the basis of your continued frustration in this matter.
In Fairfax County, Virginia, we are fighting a small group of parents who call themselves "Parents Against Books In Schools" or PABBIS. They believe hey have the right as parents and taxpayers to remove any book they think is "bad" (based on their opinion of some portion of the content) from ALL public school libraries in our county out of some arcane belief that this is needed to "protect" all of our children.
They cross a major line in my viewpoint when they try to do this. I don't need or want their "protection" (censorship) for my child, although I support their right to do as they please in controlling and limiting their own children's reading selections. They can even forbid their own children from entering the school library at all if they feel it is so inherently dangerous—however, I want that library door to remain wide open for my own daughter.
I think you crossed a line when you went around the offending librarian straight to her boss—you basically confirmed by your actions that you believe her actions were intentionally malicious in recommending this book.
That librarian cannot read your mind as a parent, and does not know your child as well as you do. While I do not know this librarian personally, it is my experience that school librarians are a noble group of professionals who do their best to help instill a love of reading in our children. It is not their responsibility, however, to do this alone - it is also your responsibility as a parent to monitor what your child reads, and to provide feedback to your child's teachers and librarians, if and when appropriate, if you do not want your child exposed while at school to a certain subject matter or author you find inappropriate - for whatever reason.
Sincerely,
Destiny Burns
Parent of a 10th grader and Founding Member of the Right To Read Coalition (a grass roots, all volunteer, advocacy group in Fairfax County, VA).
LETTER from Charles Suhor, NCTE/SLATE Field Representative
Dear Ms. Alberts,
My intention here is first and foremost to respond to your earnest letter. If you want to respond further, I'd welcome that.
As promised, I'll try to give another view on the controversy over WHAT GIRLS LEARN and SPEAK. I think you also need the perspective of the American Library Association, though. I have deep familiarity with the roles and responsibilities of English teachers in choosing classroom materials but cannot speak to the nuances of librarians' work.
Your wonderful care for your daughter (I love the read-together activities) comes through clearly in your message, as does your admirable distaste for censorship efforts experienced in your career. NCTE endorses a parent's right to guide his/her own children's reading. It gets dicey, to say the least, when a parent or group wants to withhold access of readings from other parents' children by having books removed from a classroom or library.
At the same time, it's conceivable that a book can make its way into a classroom, reading list, or school library through error or imprudent selection. This can be dealt with forthrightly, though. Over 90% of the calls I get are from districts that have an orderly process for reviewing challenges, usually following a procedure similar to that in NCTE's "Students' Right to Read" document. (See http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/category/cens/107616.htm?source=gs for the full text.) ALA has a similar procedure that's widely used in library cases. (See www.ala.org).
I'll apply the principles in NCTE's approaches here. They won't match up completely with your situation, but they're worth considering. Most often, the first step is to have a conference with the teacher (in this instance, librarian) who selected or recommended or allowed the book. The parent's concerns are aired, and the teacher explains his/her choice of the book. In classroom situations, an alternative work for the complainant's child is usually offered. In a library situation, the parent might learn the source the librarian used in deciding to order the book.
An important point here: No teacher or librarian can read ALL of the books that they want to make accessible to students. They rely also on peers' comments, reviews in professional journals, lists of recommendations from professional associations, etc. (See NCTE's on-line pamphlet, "Guidelines for Selection of Materials in English Language Arts Programs." http://www.ncte.org/about/issues/censorship/five/116515.htm?source=gs) It's not fair to suggest that a teacher or librarian is incompetent if they recommend books they haven't read. I hasten to add that the particular question of the wisdom of a personal recommendation of a specific book to a given student is another matter--one that's rightly asked in the conference with the teacher or librarian involved.
Going directly to a principal without confronting the professional who was responsible for the recommendation is an indignity, at best. What if the choice of book was an honest error, and the librarian agrees with the parent up front? Another problem is the citing of offensive scenes out of context. This is—forgive me—a classic strategy of censors.
Speaking as a parent, I can appreciate your initial reluctance about protesting because of your daughter's embarrassment at the appearance of a "meddling mother." At the same time, I support your decision to speak out in light of your deep concern about two librarians' recommendations.
But the first stop might have been the library, not the principal's office, and a conference could have been arranged in a confidential way. Teachers and librarians are usually aware of kids' sensitivities on one hand, and on the other, of the need at times to simply act despite this. Bottom line, we're the adults, they're the kids. And time heals the little wounds they feel about their occasionally protective parents—at least, so it has been with my now-grown kids.
Continuing with the typical sequence in challenges, if the conference with the teacher is unsatisfactory, it is usually followed by a formal complaint on a form such as "Request for Reconsideration of a Work." A review committee discusses the complaint as well as arguments in favor of the work, then makes a recommendation to the school board to retain, ban, or limit the book. The last of these seems to be afoot in your case, with stickers placed on certain books. Offhand, that sounds like a strange solution. But it's library-specific, and again, ALA has a better view of such things.
I've welcomed this chance for what I hope is a gentle exchange of ideas with an informed and deeply caring parent. Sadly, too many protests are bald-faced attempts to impose individuals' or groups' moral views on an entire school or district. It's clear that you're uncomfortable with being associated with such folks. The emphasis on procedure by groups like NCTE and ALA are in a sense a way of giving everyone a fair hearing. The subtleties of what-happened-when-and-why are teased out within the process, and everyone has to deal with the complex sub-texts along the way. For example, the librarian would need to seriously examine selection...You'd need to deal with your daughter's concerns all the more if your challenge became formal.... So it goes.
Cordially,
Charles Suhor
NCTE/SLATE Field Representative
LETTER from Gloria Pipkin
Dear Ms. Alberts,
I haven't read What Girls Learn, so before I responded to your letter, I began by doing what happens naturally in the classroom—checking out other young readers' responses. The web is filled with testaments to the book's power, and only one of those I read focused on the sexual references. In most cases, however, there's no way of knowing just how old the readers are, and it's likely that many of them are older than 11, so I'll try and address your concerns about appropriateness.
As a teacher of early adolescents for more than twenty years and as a longtime advocate of intellectual freedom, my approach to questions of appropriateness is to leave those decisions to readers themselves, because of the tremendous variation in interest, experience, maturity, etc. among ANY age group. With the ability to read comes the right to choose. Parents, teachers, librarians, and other adults may offer guidance, express concerns, and suggest alternatives to young readers, but the most effective stance is to respect and trust the reader. One of my mantras as a teacher has always been, "If a book offends or disturbs you, talk to an adult you trust, or abandon it and choose another."
Writing in the February 1997 issue of NCTE's English Journal, Vicky Greenbaum addresses what she terms the "Myth of Appropriateness". Even though Greenbaum deals with high school readers, the principles are applicable to younger readers as well.
Thanks to the insights of reader response theorists, we now understand that meaning-making is heavily influenced by what the reader brings to the experience. Individual experiences of race, class, gender, geography, etc. shape our reading and make it uniquely our own. We can resist what we read as well as embrace and endorse it. To read a text doesn't mean that one is seduced or polluted by it.
Your condemnation of the librarian who recommended the book to your daughter is one of the most troubling aspects of your letter. It is impossible for any librarian to personally read all the books available, so librarians do what teachers do: read reviews and professional journals as well as rely on the responses of other readers. Many times I've suggested a book I haven't read because I've heard rave reviews from other young readers. One of the factors I consider is the age of the protagonist (which in the case of What Girls Learn is near your daughter's age). Do I ever make mistakes? Of course I do, but I'm confident that my trust in readers, my knowledge of their individual needs, interest, and abilities, coupled with an emphasis on their right to choose and to reject books, serves them well in the long run.
In a wonderful book called Better than Life, Daniel Pennac has established a Reader's Bill of Rights, which I'd like to emblazon on the hearts and minds of librarians, teachers, and parents everywhere. I'll end by borrowing his wisdom:
The Reader's Bill of Rights by Daniel Pennac
1. The right not to read.
2. The right to skip pages.
3. The right to not finish.
4. The right to 5. The right to read anything.
6. The right to escapism.
7. The right to read anywhere.
8. The right to browse.
9. The right to read out loud.
10. The right to not defend your tastes.
Respectfully,
Gloria Pipkin
FEBRUARY 3, 2003, VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 (FINAL ISSUE)
READERS’ MAIL
If you've been following Nuna Alberts' letters (reprinted in two previous issues), and the comments, observations and advice offered by authorities in the censorship field, in response to her quandary, then Nuna's reply to them, which I include below, with her permission, should interest you:
I was very grateful to all of the people who agreed to discuss my situation. They were thoughtful and illuminating. Still, although I agree with the letter writers that I should have approached the librarian directly, I think they missed the point—especially the writer who mentioned that the book was chosen as best adult book for teens and quoted a blurb about its merits. That it is a wonderful book is not the point. My daughter was 11—not a teen, and not someone who chose this book off the library shelf herself. For a librarian to give that book to her was wrong. And to me, defending her actions is putting all books at great risk. Unless we can rely on school librarians to be responsible and sensitive, the censors will have a credible case to make. I never wanted censorship of this book—and I made it clear to the principal that I thought it should remain in the school library. I never even forbid my daughter to read it. I just was appalled that the librarian gave it to her.
To imply that the sexually explicit parts of the book were a minor part of the whole is also a huge mistake in my view because it denies the power of words. The power comes not from the number of words used, but from the context and the way they are used. In the artful hands of this author, those very few scenes remained vivid even in my 47-year-old mind. No one should hand them to an 11-year-old lightly, which is exactly what this librarian did.
My thanks to you.
Nuna
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