Two from the Banned Books shelf

It's Banned Books Week, that time of year when the American Library Association draws attention to censorship and promotes the freedom to read. The first I'm against and the second I heartily endorse! (Thanks to Amanda at The Zen Leaf for alerting me.)

According to the ALA, 513 challenges were reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2008.

The 10 most "controversial" (scare quotes!) titles include two that I've read: Khaled Hosseini's much-praised The Kite Runner, about his native Afghanistan; and the children's book Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen, about two male guinea pigs who tie the knot.

The Kite Runner made the list because it contains offensive language, it's sexually explicit and "unsuited to age group." I don't quite understand that last part because as far as I know, the novel's "age group" is adults. This isn't something a young child would be interested in at all.

While there is a scene of sexual violence, it's not done in a titillating way and it's absolutely essential to the story. And I don't remember an excessive amount of profanity.

This is an absorbing, thoughtful novel that a teenager could definitely handle. It's a window into a country and a culture in which Americans ought to have a great deal of interest. It's also an immigrant story, as the main character and his family struggle to make new lives for themselves in the United States.

Uncle Bobby's Wedding made the list because it's "unsuited to age group and homosexuality." I first heard about it in 2008, when Colorado librarian Jamie LaRue wrote about a challenge from a patron.

This is a sweet, beautifully illustrated story about a little girl gerbil named Chloe who's afraid of not being able to spend as much time with her favorite uncle once he gets married.

I can't imagine anyone possibly being offended unless they have a heart of stone. It's about the importance of family and the vocabulary seems totally appropriate for the intended age group. The love between Bobby and Jamie (the two male gerbils) is presented matter-of-factly. There's no big discussion about it.

What offends me are people who find books with gay and lesbian characters offensive, as if it's something we can't talk about "in front of the children." It's just as demeaning and bigoted as banning books with black, Latino or Jewish characters.

Besides, "the children" may already have a classmate with a gay or lesbian parent or family member. Those kids have the right to find books about their families on the shelves, too.

Do parents have a right to pick their children's library books? Absolutely. Do they have a right to pick the library books for other people's children? Absolutely not.

Freedom to read

I've been passionate about books and reading ever since I was kid, and librarians have played a big role in nurturing that passion. This post, from a librarian in Colorado, has been getting some exposure in the blogosphere, and I just wanted to add my voice to the chorus of praise.

Jamie LaRue, director of Colorado's Douglas County Libraries, writes that a patron challenged a book called Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah Brannen, on the grounds that it was targeted to children and designed to "normalize gay marriage." She felt it was "inappropriate that this type of literature is available to this age group" and said "This was not the type of conversation I thought I would be having with my seven year old in the nightly bedtime routine.”

Yes, those are guinea pigs on the cover. The book is about a little girl, Chloe, and her beloved Uncle Bobby. Chloe is concerned that her uncle's marriage to Jamie, another male guinea pig, will change their relationship. Awww! Don't worry, Chloe. Remember, you're not losing an uncle, you're gaining one! (Ironically, among the endorsements on Brannen's Web site is one from Wicked author Gregory Maguire. While Maguire has written books for children, Wicked is definitely not one of them!)

Anyway, LaRue answered the patron in a very eloquent and well-reasoned letter, which he reprints on his blog (minus the patron's name, of course.)

His basic point is that children's books deal with all sorts of subjects - even some that are quite disturbing. (Just think about Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel. They don't call them Grimm's fairy tales for nothing!) "I think a lot of adults imagine that what defines a children's book is the subject. But that's not the case. Children's books deal with anything and everything."

It's up to parents, not the library, LaRue says, to decide which books they want their children to read. And he notes that not all parents come at the decision from the same perspective. "There are gay parents in Douglas County, right now, who also pay taxes, and also look for materials to support their views.''

It's truly scary to read some of the bigoted remarks about Uncle Bobby's Wedding on Brannen's Web site. It infuriates me when opponents of gay marriage argue that the subject shouldn't be broached "in front of the children." We have to "protect the kids," because heaven knows, gay people aren't something you can discuss around their tender young ears. It is so offensive and it makes me so angry. How could it possibly harm a child to know that two men or two women love each other? Isn't the highest family value two consenting adults who love and care for each other wanting to build a life together?

Plus, there are plenty of kids with beloved gay uncles and lesbian aunts, people who may be getting married someday soon. And those kids may well tell their friends at school, and their friends may come home and want to talk about it with their parents. This sounds like a great book for them, or for any child. As LaRue correctly notes, "In some parts of America, at least today, gay marriage is legal. If it's legal, then how could writing a book about it be inappropriate?"

And I loved LaRue's description of the purpose of libraries: "If the library is doing its job, there are lots of books in our collection that people won't agree with; there are certainly many that I object to. Library collections don't imply endorsement; they imply access to the many different ideas of our culture, which is precisely our purpose in public life."

When I was a kid, I loved nothing better than to get a big pile of books out of the library and read them one after another. I don't remember anything in the children's room being off limits. That was where I first developed an interest in topics that still interest me today - mysteries, British literature, American history, biography. I often think that some of the best books I read were ones I read as a child. It's how I learned about the world, really. (These were among my favorites).

Will the parent who objected to Uncle Bobby's Wedding agree with LaRue? Probably not. I realize that not every parent will want their child to read this book, and that's their right. But they don't have the right to take it way from other parents and children. I really admire the way Jamie LaRue states his case and stands up for this book, for the freedom to read. Thank goodness for courageous librarians.