Banned Books in Texas Public Schools in Celebration of National Banned Books Week September 25 – October 2, 2010 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY
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14th Annual Report on Challenged and Banned Books in Texas Public Schools In Celebration of National Banned Books Week September 25 – October 2, 2010 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY
The 14th Annual Report on Challenged and Banned Books in Texas Public Schools
2009-2010 School Year
Includes an exclusive interview with ...
Mary McDonagh Murphy, author of Scout, Atticus & Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’
... and producer of the documentary film Hey, Boo: Harper Lee & ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’
2 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS Table of con t e n t s
A Few Thoughts from ACLU of Texas Executive Director Terri Burke……………………………………………4 Foreword…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... …5 Dedication………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... ….6 An Overview of Censorship in Texas……………………………………………………………………………………….....……7 Where Books were Banned……………………………………………………………………………………………………...... …..9 Why Books were Banned…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... …11 Due Process Before Pulling a Book…………………………………………………………………………………………....…..13 Texas Library Association Resources……………………………………………………………………………………...……..14 List of Banned Books………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... ….15 List of Restricted Books………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....……16 All Challenged Books: by District...………………………………………………………………………………………….....…..17 Summaries of Each Challenged Book…………………………………………………………………………………………...24 Interview with Mary McDonagh Murphy…………………………………………………………………………………...….30
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 3 A f e w t h o u g h t s
From ACLU of Texas Executive Director Terri Burke
his year marks the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest examples of American literature: To Kill a Mockingbird. TI’m old enough to have read it shortly after it was published. Thirty years later we gave each of our daughters their first copies and our conversations about the book – and the human condition it exposes – re- main a deep family bond. This is a book that delved into issues of race in the Deep South, of discrimination, of class, of injustice, and also of courage. It is a book that challenged the status quo of society at the time and how folks thought. Published in 1960, this book – narrated by a six-year-old girl named Scout – tells the story of a black man tried on the basis of little solid evidence for raping a white woman in rural Alabama. “Mockingbird” won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was made into a film in 1962. In this year’s report, we are honored to feature an interview with film and television writer/ producer Mary McDonagh Murphy who has written a new book, Scout, Atticus & Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ and produced a new documentary film,Hey, Boo: Harper Lee & ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ Ms. Murphy is an expert on To Kill a Mockingbird; we are delighted to discover what this book means to her and why she feels it is so important for people to read today. Sadly, To Kill a Mockingbird is also a book that has been repeatedly challenged or banned in schools not only in Texas but across America since it was published. The American Library Association has reported that To Kill a Mockingbird was number 21 of the 100 most frequently challenged books of 2000–2009, despite its classic status. In 2001, it was challenged by a Glynn County, GA School Board member because of “profanity.” It was challenged at the Brentwood, TN Middle School in 2006 because the book contains not just “profanity” but also “adult themes.” And right here in Texas, back in 1996, it was banned from the Lindale, TX advanced placement English reading list because the book “conflicted with the values of the community.” I don’t need to tell you that attempts to remove To Kill a Mockingbird or any book from our schools’ classrooms and libraries, based on narrow-minded, ill-considered objections of a per- son or group, is a threat to our First Amendment right to freedom of expression, of speech, and of ideas. And it is these challenges to books in Texas that we highlight in the ACLU of Texas’ 14th Annual Banned Books Report: Free People Read Freely.
In liberty,
Terri Burke Executive Director
4 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
f o R e w o RD
By Dotty Griffith, Public Education Director
ust as this year’s report was ready for final editing, the questionable cancellation of a very popular community event, the Teen Lit Festival in Humble, a JHouston-area suburb, reminded us that censorship comes in many guises. For the 14th year, this report documents censorship challenges to books in Texas public schools. Some of these challenges result in books being banned, usually permanently. That’s disappointing enough for those of us who believe that parents have the right to decide what their children read but shouldn’t be able to dictate to other parents what their kids may not read. Even more disturbing is the situation in Humble where the censorious views of a few de- prived an entire city of the prestige and fun of a book festival that attracts best-selling authors. Abandonment of the Teen Lit Festival, geared to middle and high school students, sends a very negative message to age groups that should be encouraged to find inspiration and self- discovery in literature. Based on news reports and conversations, here’s what happened. Last summer, best-selling author Ellen Hopkins was un-invited from appearing at the January 2011 event. Superinten- dent Dr. Guy Sconzo said a few parents complained that Hopkins’ books weren’t appropriate for middle schoolers. To avoid controversy, Sconzo asked that Hopkins not attend. Hopkins’ books deal with difficult issues. Crank, her first novel and a New York Times best- seller, is based loosely on her older daughter’s addiction to crystal meth and depicts “a good girl’s fall from grace.” It is, said Ms. Hopkins, “a cautionary tale. All my books are cautionary tales.” When Hopkins spread the word of being dropped via her blog, four other popular “young adult” genre authors -- Pete Hautman, Melissa de la Cruz, Tera Lynn Childs and Matt de la Pena -- cancelled their appearances in protest. After that, Sconzo says school librarians who organized the event asked that it be cancelled because of “negative press.” So now there’s no controversy. And no Teen Lit Festival. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to let parents, who in virtually all cases accompany their middle school-age students to the Festival, decide whether Hopkins and her books are suitable for their children? No one would have had to attend her presentation or buy her books. Instead a whole community has been denied a book festival because a few parents disapproved of an author and everyone was afraid to say “no” to the censors. Sconzo says he’s gotten “a lot of hate mail” accusing him of censorship. “I don’t see it that way,” Sconzo asserts, because “it is a voluntary event. We get to choose who to invite or not to invite.” Under the Humble circumstances, many would choose to call that censorship.
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 5 D e d i c at i o n
Leah Siegel and Myra MacPherson
his year’s Banned Books Report, Free People Read Freely, honors a mother- Tdaughter duo that devoted their lives to the First Amendment and freedom of the press. Myra MacPherson gained prominence as a reporter at The Washington Post profiling the Watergate burglars, covering women’s rights and other social issues. She has written four books, including the classic Long Time Passing: Vietnam and the Haunted Generation and the acclaimed biography, All Governments Lie: The Life and Times of Rebel Journalist I. F. Stone. Her daughter, Leah Siegel, followed in her mother’s journalistic footsteps as an Emmy award-winning producer for ESPN. Myra became a steadfast friend of the ACLU of Texas in 2008 when she moved to Texas from Washington, D.C. to be nearer Leah. At age 41, Leah had been diagnosed with advanced breast cancer following the birth of her third child. One day at a time, Leah insisted on living her life to the fullest, with gallant realism and wit. Myra did the same, dividing her time between Austin and Dallas where Leah and her husband, Eric Loehr, resided with Teagan, 6, Wyatt, 3, and Oliver, 2. The prognosis had been grim and Leah lost her hard-fought battle last July. Tributes from all over the country were testament to the impact of her professional acumen and personal courage. Her CaringBridge blog, filled with hope and humor, reached not only friends but inspired strangers; there were an amazing 60,000 visits to her site. To this day, Myra remains determined. During Leah’s illness, she gave a big piece of her time and talent to an ACLU of Texas report, Missing the Mark: How National Security Strate- gies in Rio Grande Valley Border Communities Sacrifice Basic Human Rights and Fail to Make Texans Safe. Myra traveled with ACLU colleagues. We wrote and edited together. We cried together. Yet it wasn’t until several months after Leah’s passing that Myra was able to speak about an- other of her works, published in 1999. She Came to Live Out Loud: An Inspiring Family Jour- ney Through Illness, Loss, and Grief, the inspiring and highly-praised chronicle of the final years of another 40-something mother who died too young of breast cancer. Leah helped edit Myra’s book. In a sense, they wrote Leah’s final chapters before they lived them. Thank you, Myra, for your time, talent and example of the way to live, work and carry on.
Dotty Griffith On behalf of the ACLU of Texas
6 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
A n O v e r v i e w o f C e n s o r ship in Texas
“Books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance.” — Lyndon B. Johnson
“All around us, matters of national and international importance are crying out for creative solutions, from saving the Gulf of Mexico to bringing peace to Afghanistan. Such solutions emerge from a healthy marketplace of ideas, sustained by a populace constantly contributing original ideas and receptive to the ideas of others.” — Newsweek, July 2010 cover story on declining creativity in American education
“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
— Gandhi
n a world where adults and teenagers Unfortunately, as the ACLU of Texas’ 14th are ever more swamped with information, the Banned Books report will show, not all see it that Isimple pleasure of getting lost in the pages of way. The good news is: when it comes to the outright a good book has never felt better. In a well-writ- banning of books, this year was better than last year. ten story, the powerful themes that propel society We have seen a slight but steady decrease in both forward and define the directions of our lives – from the number of books challenged and banned since love, oppression, and the growing pains of child- the 2007-2008 school year. The bad news is: of those hood to war and peace – are brought before us. We challenges brought before school administrators come out wiser, more compassionate, and more this year, 44 percent led to a book being banned or emboldened for having dipped our imaginations, restricted. our intellects, and hearts into worlds beyond the This year, we sent out requests to every school confines of our own. district and most charter schools in Texas. We were
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 7 BANNED BOOKS CHALLENGED BOOKS Number of books banned per Number of books challenged per school year in Texas Public Schools school year in Texas Public Schools
2005-06* 16 *low reporting year 65 2005-06*
2006-07 46 116 2006-07
2007-08 27 102 2007-08
2008-09 26 98 2008-09
2009-10 20 87 2009-10
after basic information on whether books have been spreading to pre-teens now too, some of these ac- banned or restricted, and what mechanisms schools tions seem downright over-reactive. Hunt Elemen- use before pulling a book from their library shelves tary in Cuero ISD, for example, removed Time-Life or school curriculum. 954 out of almost 1,300 dis- Magazine from its library. In Our Mothers’ House, a tricts answered our requests for information. book about a multi-racial family headed by lesbian We found that throughout Texas, 87 times parents, was banned at Glen Rose Intermediate, books were challenged. Twenty books were banned, reflecting the tendency to try to wall off adolescent while another 16 were restricted. Quite likely, this children from anything that deviates from “tradi- number is higher as those districts that responded tional” family values. Often, a parent or teacher will to our survey are probably those with attitudes and note that a book is simply not “age appropriate” policies more protective of free speech and access without providing details as to what exactly they are to books. opposed to. In a marked shift from last year, only about We are concerned that schools are pulling books a third of the books banned were in elementary from their libraries without evaluating whether they schools. The overwhelming majority was in middle are in fact damaging to kids, whether they contain schools. While parents, teachers, and librarians information that may help prepare children for the are understandably protective of exposing small future, and whether presenting material in a proper children to adult content, the worry seems to be context would be better than banning it.
8 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
W h e r e b o o k s w e r e b a n n e d
BANNED BOOKS BY AGE RANGE
High School 13% Elementary School 29%
Intermediate School 8% Middle School 50%
eographically, the greatest Reality Matters: Under the Influence. numbers of challenges came from Lean- Nearly every challenge was initiated by a con- Gder ISD, with Round Rock and Cypress- cerned parent or guardian with a few exceptions, Fairbanks ISDs close behind. In Leander, the entire where teachers or students brought the book to the Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar was nearly administration’s attention. banned for inappropriate language, drugs, and sexual content. The books were challenged not in At Canyon Vista Middle School a middle or elementary school as expected, but at in Round Rock, in two cases, Vandegrift High School by a ninth grader’s parent. a parent wanted a book banned After bringing the books before the review com- but refused to read it in order to mittee, the committee decided to ban books written discuss it with school administrators. after the series had passed from von Ziegesar to a ghostwriter; the reason cited was “poorer literary In another instance, a parent objected to a quality.” Other materials challenged in Leander picture showing a girl with her “back exposed” include Jerry Seinfeld’s Halloween, the Encyclope- and “bra unhooked.” There were complaints about dia Horrifica, Beyond the Grave, La Historia de los a book that dealt with suicide – a topic one par- Colores, and a video on drug awareness entitled, ent felt hit too close too home – and the unseemly
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 9 OUTCOME OF CHALLENGES
Restricted for that child only 4%
Decision Pending 6%
Banned 24%
A lternate Book Allowed 10%
Restricted 20% Retained 36%
language in a memoir by an 18-year-old Iraq War profanity or horror – no books were restricted or veteran. removed. Some districts indeed take matters of intellectual Similarly, we were pleased to see that Houston freedom and a student’s right to read very seriously. ISD, the largest school district in the state and the Though there were six challenges in Round Rock one with the most challenges just two years ago, ISD – including Thirteen Reasons Why, Suck It Up, reportedly had no incidents of books being chal- and the Guinness Book of World Records, mostly for lenged or removed in 2010.
10 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
w h y b o o k s w e r e b a n n e d
s important as which books are Concerns about nudity were also behind an attempt banned is why books are banned. Often, to get the Guinness Book of World Records taken out Ait usually comes down to sex or nudity. of one elementary school. Sexual content, however, can be a very loose term. We provided schools with 12 common reasons Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen was chal- books are challenged along with an “other” category lenged for a cartoon drawing showing the little boy to track why books were challenged. This is what we tumbling in a dream sequence with no diaper on. found:
REASON FOR CHALLENGE Number of books challenged per reason (books often challenged for multiple reasons)
14 Other/No reason given
11 Politically, Socially, Racially Offensive
12 Offensive to Religious Beliefs
17 Drugs and Alcohol
18 Violence and Horror
29 Profanity/Poor Language
44 Sex or Nudity
Judy Blume seems to raise the ire of strict parents Blume’s books contain very little actual sexual year after year for its girl narrators that confront content, especially when compared to the way teen puberty, and the desires and fears of adolescence in sexuality and behavior is portrayed on TV. Rather it diary entries. In 2010, Blume’s Then Again, Maybe I is the narrators’ willingness to openly admit to ques- Won’t and Forever were banned in Thrall and Cuero tions, fears, and curiosity about sex that seems to ISDs while her It’s Not the End of the World was threaten would-be censors. restricted for using the word “Goddamn.” This is Religious objections were also at the root of a disappointment; while Blume’s books are chal- many challenges. As Harry Potter was attacked in lenged every year, none were banned in Texas during many districts a few years ago, any book seen to be the 2008-2009 school. In Leander, however, which promoting sorcery, paganism and witchcraft came boasts the most challenges of any school district, a under fire in 2010. These complaints call into ques- discussion between the school principal and librar- tion the line between deeply personal beliefs and the ian resulted in keeping the ever-popular Are You need to develop a curriculum relevant to children There God, It’s Me Margaretat school. Interestingly, from many different backgrounds.
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 11 Violence or horror is a similar way to voice the Catcher in the Rye, and same objection. Together, these two categories make The Kite Runner. up a quarter of all challenges. While certain seg- This year, we feature ments of Christianity consistently take issue with To Kill a Mockingbird wizard, ghost, and goblin books, believing they by Harper Lee, which represent the occult, others take these tales for com- has long been on the pletely fictional fantastical worlds where vampires bulls-eye for those who roam the night, smart kids have special powers, and police reading lists. This children are encouraged to use their imaginations to story of a six-year-old the greatest degree possible. girl who confronts the Vampires, however, seemed to be more objection- complex racial overtones of her Southern town be- able last year – when Stephenville ISD banned all 11 came an instant classic when it was released. We talk books from Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy and with Mary McDonagh Murphy, whose new book P.C. Cast’s House of Night series. We were pleasantly Scout, Atticus & Boo, reflects on the significance of surprised that Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series was the book 50 years later. Its power to move people only challenged in one school district this year; in – and its perhaps unintended themes of feminism, that case, the student whose parent objected was the bitter remnants of slavery, and the importance assigned an alternative book. As always the question of one person (no matter how small) standing up to becomes: should the tastes or beliefs of a few rule the injustice – continues to draw lots of attention. reading lists for us all? Should parents have the last In Eden Valley, Minnesota, in the 1970’s To Kill a word on what their children ought to be exposed to? Mockingbird was temporarily banned for the words Complaints that a book is “politically, racially, “damn” and “whore lady.” More recently, it’s come socially offensive” were also numerous this year. In under fire for use of the N word. Black parents and the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien, whose real even the NAACP have protested on several occa- life-inspired stories on Vietnam earned him a Pu- sions when the book is included in elementary and litzer and National Book Award nomination, made middle school reading lists. this list. So did Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, In 1995, the book was removed from a high The Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, andGive school library in Louisiana, and then banned from a Boy a Gun by Todd Strasser. None of these books, a Lindale, Texas advanced placement reading list, however, were actually removed from schools. often reserved for juniors and seniors, because the Ellen Hopkins’s books – which includes Burned, book “conflicted with the values of the community.” Cranked, Glass, Identical and Impulse – were chal- To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the modern clas- lenged at several schools. The subject is a dysfunc- sics, alongside Of Mice and Men and Catcher in the tional family haunted by an abusive, alcoholic father. Rye, which routinely draws complaints for profanity, One district left the book on the library shelves but unpleasant racial themes, and sexuality. The book took it off a required reading list. Another restricted was banned by one Oklahoma district in 2001. In the books to 11th and 12th graders. Texas, it has come under fire as recently as 2008. Among the notable literature that made our Hardly a year goes by when the book is not chal- “challenged” list this year is Flowers for Algernon, lenged somewhere in the US.
12 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
D u e p R o c e s s B e f o r e P u l l i n g a B o o k
hen a book is challenged by a students whose parents objected were not allowed to parent or school district resident, the read the book though other students retained access Wprocess by which a district responds to it. often affects whether the book gets banned as much Equally significant is whether the decision made as the content of the book. Two hundred schools re- is “permanent.” Although many districts claim to ported that when a book is challenged, the decision have reconsideration procedures once a book is on whether to ban it is made by the “administration removed from library shelves, 455 districts – more only” or “librarian only.” This means the decision is than half of those who answered the question– re- likely made by a single person. Another 130 rely on ported that all decisions are final. This means there the “School Board only” to review challenged books. is no way for a teacher, student, or community Five hundred districts use a review committee, member to appeal the decision and reintroduce the often comprised of the principal or superintendent, question of whether a book belongs in the classroom school librarian, teachers, parents, and ideally some once controversy around an issue may have died students. This is clearly a more democratic way to down. make decisions that affect the student body, possibly Where would be today if our children were still for decades to come. Oftentimes, librarians will be prohibited from reading To Kill A Mockingbird? Key encouraged to read and review the book and present to democracy and open information is the ability to their opinions to others. This creates some safeguards revisit situations. It is crucial that, in due time, when that one parent’s whims, religious beliefs or personal it becomes clear that Harry Potter readers do not objections do not rob a whole community of the op- take up witchcraft and put spells on their teachers, portunity to expand their world through reading. or that the values put forth by a book like To Kill a In Leander ISD, which had the most challenges Mockingbird are ones we should aspire to rather than this year, both the person challenging the book and fear, school administrators are open to putting a the review committee must read the books before book back into library circulation. making a decision. In Round Rock, which had the In the best of worlds, when a parent challenges a second highest number of challenges, teachers, par- book, this can be a good way of creating a communi- ents, administrators, and students sit on the review ty or school-wide discussion on issues raised by the committee. The Superintendent makes decisions as book. Certainly this was true with To Kill a Mock- well, but only those decisions made by the Round ingbird in the 1960’s and with Judy Blume books, Rock School Board are final. even today. Educators are forced to read, perhaps Many districts may choose some intermediary for the first time, literature that is popular with their option that falls short of banning a book but does re- students. Parents are encouraged to read as well, and strict access to it. Often, a district will decide a given see what their children are drawn to and discussing. book is only acceptable for a student of a certain age Books don’t corrupt us. They guide us through or grade level, or it will require parental permission the complexities of life, arm us with information, before a student can check it out. And if a parent and help us develop our own moral compasses. objects to a book that is assigned by a teacher, usu- From high literature to pulp fiction, if it gets a child ally the teacher will offer an alternative assignment. to read, can it really be that bad? Last year, 22 percent of challenges led to a restric- We would like to thank the schools that took the tion. This year, the number was nearly identical, with time to answer our survey, and above all, the librar- 20 percent of challenges leading to restricted access ians across Texas who continue to foster a curiosity based on age. In another four percent of cases, the for learning and a love of reading.
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 13 T e x a s L i b r a r y A s s o c i at i o n R e s o u r c e s
he Texas Library Association lectual freedom challenges. believes that the freedom to read is a Freedom to read means individuals should have Tcorollary of the First Amendment’s the freedom to choose among reading materials, and guarantees of a free press. The Association’s Intel- open access to a diversity of resources. It means that lectual Freedom Committee helps protect this right these rights should be protected against attempts by responding to librarians facing book challenges, – legal or otherwise – to censor reading materials or offering model policies and procedures, tracking control the process. reports of book challenges by its members, and sup- For more information on these resources visit: porting policies and laws that preserve and protect www.txla.org or contact the Texas Library Associa- access to information. The Committee also makes tion at (512) 328-1518. itself available as a resource to librarians facing intel-
14 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
l i s T o f b a n n e D b o o k s
Books removed from library shelves or class reading lists
Judy Blume Forever Then Again, Maybe I Won’t Jean Ferris Eight Seconds Brian Innes The History and Methods of Torture Mark Kidwell The Creature from the Depths Denene Millner Hotlanta Lauren Myracle ttfn Phyllis Reynolds NayloR Achingly Alice Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson And Tango Makes Three Julie Anne Peters Far from Xanadu Patricia Polacco In Our Mothers’ House Anne Rooney Zombies on the Loose R.L. Stine Eye Candy Time-Life Magazine Media: Tom Brown’s Schooldays Allison van Diepen Snitch Jake WizneR Spanking Shakespeare Cecily Con ZiegesaR Would I Lie to You: A Gossip Girl Novel
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 15 L i s t o f R e s tr i c t e d B o o k s
Restricted to Readers Based on Age, Reading Level, Parental Permission, etc.
Judy Blume Gordon Korman It’s Not the End of the World Born to Rock John Farndon Gary Paulsen Dorling Kindersly Visual Encyclopedia The Schernoff Discoveries Ellen Hopkins Dav Pilkey Burned Las Aventuras del Super-Bebe Panal Crank Glass Phyllis Reynolds NayloR Identical Alice on Her Way Impulse Peter Parnell and Anthony Horowitz Justin Richardson More Horowitz Horror And Tango Makes Three Mark Kidwell Sonya Sones The Creature from the Depths What My Mother Doesn’t Know Stephen King It
Illustration by: Adrian C. Sinnott
16 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
A l l C h a l l e n g e d B ooks: by Dis tr i c t
Alvin ISD School: Jose Damian School: Alvin Elementary Elementary Book: More Horowitz Horror, Book: Las aventuras del Anthony Horowitz Super Bebe Panal, Dav Pilkey Reason Cited: Profanity; Reason Cited: Offensive Sexual content or nudity language Action Taken: Use restricted Action Taken: Restricted from the Note: Copies of books were child of parent who brought sent to the Junior High the challenge forward
School: Stevenson Primary celina ISD Book: The Creature from the School: Middle School Depths, Mark Kidwell Book: Twilight, Stephanie Reason Cited: Violence or Meyer horror Reason Cited: Violence or Action Taken: Banned horror; Offensive to religious Note: Book was initially beliefs restricted from the child of the Action Taken: Alternate book parent who brought the challenge allowed (curriculum only) forward. Upon review, the book was restricted to all PK-2 students corpus christi ISD School: Cullen Middle School BUSHLAND ISD Book: Blood and Chocolate, School: Bushland Middle School Annette Curtis Klause Book: Eye Candy, R.L. Stine Reason Cited: Sexual content or nudity; Reason Cited: Profanity; Sexual Offensive language content or nudity Action Taken: Retained Action Taken: Banned School: Cullen Middle School calhoun county ISD Book: Go Ask Alice, Anonymous School: HJM Elementary School Reason Cited: Sexual content or nudity; Book: Zombies on the Loose, Offensive language Anne Rooney Action Taken: Retained Reason Cited: Violence or horror School: King High School Action Taken: Banned Book: The Idiot’s Guide to Wicca & Witch- craft, Denise Zimmerman & Katherine A. canutillo ISD Gleason School: Alderete Middle School Reason Cited: Other: “This book teaches Book: Eight Seconds, Jean kids how to make potions and Ferris spells.” Reason Cited: Politically, Action Taken: Book reclassified racially, or socially offensive and shelved with the religious Action Taken: Banned materials
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 17 CUERO ISD Book: Burned, Hopkins School: Hunt Elementary Reason Cited: Sexual content Book: Time-Life Magazine or nudity; Violence or horror; Reason Cited: Sexual content Offensive to religious beliefs or nudity; Politically, racially, Action Taken: Use restricted or socially offensive Gilmer ISD Action Taken: Banned School: Gilmer Intermediate Cypress-fairbanks ISD Book: Tom Brown’s School School:Aragon Middle School Days (Media) Book: Crystal Meth and other Amphet- Reason Cited: Sexual content amines, Karla Fitzhugh or nudity; Violence or horror Reason Cited: Drugs or Action Taken: Banned alcohol Glen rose ISD Action Taken: Retained School: Glen Rose School: Hopper Middle School Intermediate Book: Hip-Hop: Jay-Z, Geoff Book: In Our Mothers’ House, Barnes Patricia Polacco Reason Cited: Other: Cigars and risque- Reason Cited: Sexual content dressed ladies in photos or nudity Action Taken: Retained Action Taken: Banned School: Kahla Middle School School: Not given Book: Hotlanta, Denene Miller Book: The Schernoff Discoveries, Reason Cited: Profanity; Gary Paulsen Sexual content or nudity Reason Cited: Socially offensive Action Taken: Banned Action Taken: Use restricted School: Lamkin Elementary Graford ISD Book: Chains, Laurie Halse School: Graford High School Anderson Book: A Child Called It, David J. Reason Cited: Politically, Pelzor racially, or socially offensive Reason Cited: Violence or Action Taken: Retained horror Action Taken: Retained EDNA ISD Note: Alternate book allowed School: High School, AP Class hays isd Book: In the Lake of the Woods, Tim School: Chapa Middle School O’Brien Book: Give a Boy a Gun, Todd Reason Cited: Profanity; Strasser Sexual content or nudity; Reason Cited: Profanity; Violence Offensive to religious beliefs or horror; Politically, racially or socially Action Taken: Retained offensive School: Not given Action Taken: Retained
18 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
irving isd Book: Story of Colors (La School: J. O. Davis historia de los colores), Subcomandante Book: About Sardine in Marcos Outer Space 4, Emmanuel Reason Cited: Other: Tobacco use Guibert Action Taken: Retained Reason Cited: None given Note: parent of child requested Action Taken: Retained that their child not be allowed to check out books in the same School: John Haley Elementary section of the library Book: It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies…, Robie Harris School: Canyon Ridge Middle Reason Cited: Sexual content or School nudity Book: The True Meaning of Action Taken: Retained; Note: Cleavage, Mariah Fredericks moved copies of book to middle schools Reason Cited: Other: Cover art Action Taken: Retained School: Lamar Middle School Book: Parrot in the Oven, Victor School: Cypress Elementary Martinez Book: Are You There God, It’s Reason Cited: Violence or horror Me Margaret, Judy Blume Action Taken: Retained Reason Cited: Other: Mature content Action Taken: Retained keller isd School: Friendship Elementary School: Grandview Hills Book: Draw Me a Star, Eric Carle Elementary Reason Cited: Sexual content or Book: Dorling Kindersly Visual nudity Encylopedia, John Farndon Action Taken: Retained Reason Cited: Other: Depth of content regarding the human body School: Hargrave High School and reproduction Book: The Catcher in the Rye, Action Taken: Restricted; Book J.D. Salinger moved to different section for Reason Cited: Profanity; Sexual teacher use content or nudity; Drugs or alcohol Action Taken: Retained School: Jim Plain Elementary Book: Halloween, Jerry Seinfeld klein isd Reason Cited: Other: Offensive language School: Benignus Elementary Action Taken: Retained Book: The Diary of Wimpy Kid, JeffK inney School: Jim Plain Elementary Reason Cited: Politically, racially Book: No, David!, David or socially offensive Shannon Action Taken: Retained Reason Cited: Other: Portrayal of negative behavior rewarded by leander isd parent School: Bagdad Elementary Action Taken: Retained
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 19 School: Vandergrift High School conversation Book: The Gossip Girl Series, Cecily von Action Taken: Banned Ziegesar Reason Cited: Sexual content; McKinney ISD Drugs and alcohol; language School: Walker Elementary Action Taken: Retained (copies Book: She’s Got the Beat, Nancy of series written by von Ziegesar Krulik only) Reason Cited: Sexual content or nudity; Drugs or alcohol School: Westside Elementary Action Taken: Decision pending Book: Encyclopedia Horrifica, Note: A committee will meet to review Joshua Gee the book; afterward, a report will be sent Reason Cited: Other: Frightening cover art Midway ISD Action Taken: Retained School: All elementary schools Book: And Tango Makes Three, School: Westside Elementary Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson Book: Beyond the Grave, Judith Reason Cited: Other: Not age appropriate Herbst Action Taken: Use Restricted Reason Cited: Other: Frightening Material School: Midway Middle School Action Taken: Retained Book: ttfn, Lauren Myracle Reason Cited: Profanity; Sexual School: Wiley Middle School content or nudity; Offensive to Film: “Under the Influence” religious views Reason Cited: Other: Inappropriate Action Taken: Banned content Action Taken: Retained; Newcastle ISD Note: Teachers are now told to School: Newcastle school preview the film before screening Book: It’s Not the End of the World, it to students Judy Blume Reason Cited: Profanity; Offensive Lewisville ISD to religious beliefs School: Forestwood Middle Action Taken: Use restricted School Northeast ISD Book: Paranoid Park, Blake School: Tejada Middle School Nelson Book: Would I Lie to You--A Gossip Reason Cited: Sexual content Girl Novel, Cecily von Ziegesar or nudity; Drugs or alcohol Reason Cited: Profanity; Sexual Action Taken: Retained content or nudity Lumberton ISD Action Taken: Banned School: Middle School Northside ISD Book: Achingly Alice, Phyllis School: All middle schools Reynolds Naylor Book: The History and Methods of Reason Cited: Other: Sexually explicit Torture, Brian Innes
20 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Reason Cited: Sexual content or Book: And Tango Makes Three, nudity Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson Action Taken: Banned Reason Cited: Politically, racially or socially offensive Orangefield ISD Action Taken: Banned School: OrangefieldH igh School Book: My Sister’s Keeper, Jodi Round Rock ISD Picoult School: Callison Elementary Reason Cited: Profanity; Sexual Book: The Guiness Book of World content or nudity; Drugs or alcohol; Records Other: bomb-making descriptions Reason Cited: Sexual content or Action Taken: Retained nudity Pawnee ISD Action Taken: Retained School: Pawnee Junior High School: Canyon Vista Middle Book: It, Stephen King School Reason Cited: Sexual content or Book: Bloodline, Kate Cary nudity; Profanity Reason Cited: Violence or horror; Action Taken: Use restricted Offensive to religious beliefs Port Neches-Groves ISD Action Taken: Retained School: Port Neches Elementary School: Canyon Vista Middle Book: Then Again, Maybe I Won’t, School Judy Blume Book: Suck it Up, Brian Meehl Reason Cited: Sexual content or Reason Cited: Violence or horror; nudity Offensive to religious beliefs Action Taken: Banned Action Taken: Retained Red Lick ISD School: Cedar Valley Middle School: Red Lick Middle School School Book: Born to Rock, Gordon Book: Ghosts of War, Ryan Korman Smithson Reason Cited: Profanity; Sexual Reason Cited: Profanity content or nudity; Violence or Action Taken: Retained horror; Drugs or alcohol Action Taken: Use restricted School: Chisholm Trail Middle School Rockwall ISD Book: Feed, M.T. Anderson School: All middle schools Reason Cited: Profanity Book: The Hunger Games, Action Taken: Retained Suzanne Collins Reason Cited: Violence or horror Sanger ISD School: Sanger Middle Action Taken: Retained School Rosebud-Lott ISD Book: Spanking Shakespeare, Jake Wiz- ner School: Rosebud Primary School
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 21 Reason Cited: Inappropriate for age level Action Taken: Banned Action Taken: Banned Thrall ISD Sealy ISD School: Elementary and School: Sealy Junior High secondary schools Book: Alice on Her Way, Book: Forever, Judy Blume Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Reason Cited: Profanity; Sexual Reason Cited: Sexual content content or nudity or nudity Action Taken: Banned Action Taken: Use restricted Trent County ISD Sinton ISD School: All schools School: Sinton Elementary Book: Snitch, Allison van Diepen Book: Bone Dance, Martha Brooks Reason Cited: Profanity; Sexual Reason Cited: Profanity; content or nudity; Offensive to Offensive to religious sensitivities religoius beliefs; Socially, racially, Action Taken: Retained or politically offensive Action Taken: Banned School: Sinton Elementary Book: The Cookcamp, Gary Union Hill ISD Paulsen School: Not given Reason Cited: Sexual content or Book: Burned, Ellen Hopkins nudity Reason Cited: Profanity; Sexual content Action Taken: Retained or nudity; Drugs or alcohol Action Taken: Use restricted (to 11th Splendora ISD and 12th grade students only) School: Splendora Junior High Book: Wake, Lisa McMann School: Not given Action Taken: Retained Book: Crank, Ellen Hopkins Note: The book is currently under review, Reason Cited: Profanity; Sexual content though no formal challenge has been or nudity; Drugs or alcohol filed Action Taken: Use restricted (to 11th Taylor ISD and 12th grade students only) School: Taylor Middle School School: Not given Book: What My Mother Doesn’t Book: Glass, Ellen Hopkins Know, Sonya Sones Reason Cited: Profanity; Sexual content Reason Cited: Other: Mature content or nudity; Drugs or alcohol Action Taken: Use restricted Action Taken: Use restricted (to 11th and Thorndale ISD 12th grade students only) School: Middle school and high School: Not given school Book: Identical, Ellen Hopkins Book: Far From Xanadu, Julie Reason Cited: Profanity; Sexual content Ann Peters or nudity; Drugs or alcohol Reason Cited: Profanity Action Taken: Use restricted (to 11th
22 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
and 12th grade students only)
School: Not given Book: Impulse, Ellen Hopkins Reason Cited: Profanity; Sexual content or nudity; Drugs or alcohol Action Taken: Use restricted (to 11th and 12th grade students only) Weatherford ISD School: Weatherford High School Ninth Grade Center Book: The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini Reason Cited: Sexual content or nudity; Violence or horror Action Taken: Retained
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 23 A S h o rt S u mm a r y o f e a c h C h a l l e n g e d B o o k
A Child Called It Beyond The Grave father, a punk-rock band mem- David J. Pelzer Judith Herbst ber. The former president of his An autobiography of Pelzer’s A parapsychological book high school’s Young Republican childhood with his abusive, discussing topics such as ghosts, club, Leo is forced to reexamine alcoholic mother. spontaneous human combus- his life and his principles along tion, and near-death experiences. his journey. About Sardine In Outer Space 4 Bleach Burned Emmanuel Guibert Tite Kubo Ellen Hopkins A whimsically illustrated ac- A series of graphic novels depict- Escaping an abusive home life count of a space-pirate’s adven- ing the adventures of a Soul and beginning to live with her tures with his friends. Reaper, who guides deceased aunt, teenage Pattyn begins to spirits to the afterlife. question her Mormon religion Achingly Alice and relationships. Phyllis Blood And Chocolate Reynolds Naylor Annette Curtis Chains Alice, an eighth grader, attempts Klause Laurie Halse to navigate adolescence and A teenage werewolf finds herself Anderson confronts her relationships and stuck between the human and The story of a teenage slave who, sexuality head-on. paranormal worlds when she falls during the American Revolution, in love with a high school boy. works as a spy for the rebels. Alice On Her Way Phyllis Reynolds Bloodline Crank Naylor Kate Cary Ellen Hopkins Alice, along with several of her A dramatic war story in which a Written in verse, 15-year-old friends, further explores her woman must decide whether or narrator Kristina reveals how she sexuality with the help of an un- not to follow the man she loves became addicted to crank, and characteristically liberal church- and become a vampire. how the stimulant turned her sponsored program. from straight-A student to drug Bone Dance addict. And Tango Makes Three Martha Brooks Peter Parnell and As a teenager, Alexandra be- Crystal Meth and Other Justin Richardson comes the owner of a prairie Amphetamines At New York City’s Central Park home near an ancient Native Karla Fitzhugh Zoo, two male penguins fall in American burial ground. When An informative description of love and start a family by taking she takes up residence at this various amphetamines. Also turns sitting on an abandoned home, she begins encounter examines the behavior of young egg until it hatches. ghosts and other mythological persons in regards to amphet- Native American spirits. amines. Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret Born To Rock Dorling Kindersly Judy Blume Gordan Korman Visual Encyclopedia An 11-year-old Margaret’s explo- After a debate involving ho- John Farndon ration of puberty and adolescent mophobia and accusations of An encyclopedia with categories spiritual relationships. cheating, high school student such as the Earth, the human Leo sets out to find his biological body, and society and history.
24 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Draw Me A Star Flowers For Algernon explores topics such as drug ad- Eric Carle Daniel Keyes diction and mental illness. A young boy creates an entire Mentally-challenged Charlie Gossip Girl series world around a simple drawing becomes the first human sub- Cecily von Ziegesar of a star. ject for an IQ-increasing brain A series of novels that explores operation. Once his IQ begins Eight Seconds the lives of elite, privileged young to climb, however, Charlie Jean Ferris women in New York City. must confront the cruelty of his An upcoming senior in high “friends” and the other stresses Guinness Book of World school, John attends a rodeo that come with extreme intellect. Records camp, where he discovers his A book of world records, rang- own homosexuality and must Forever ing from articles about the oldest confront what this realization Judy Blume Titanic survivor to some of the means for his future. A story of first love that explores world’s most intriguing cultural the sexuality and passionate Encyclopedia Horrifica rituals. Also includes sections relationship between two high Joshua Gee on the human body, sports, and school students. An encyclopedia of mythical engineering and technology. creatures, such as aliens, Ghosts of War Halloween vampires, mermaids, and Ryan Smithson Jerry Seinfeld zombies. A true account of Smithson’s A children’s humor book that enlistment into the Army follow- Eye Candy recounts a young Jerry Seinfeld’s ing 9/11. Following his return R.L. Stine trick-or-treating adventures. home from Iraq, he must deal Experimenting with online dat- with PTSD. ing, Lindsey finds herself dating Hip Hop: Jay Z four men at once. However, Give A Boy A Gun Geoff Barnes after an anonymous, threatening Todd Strasser A biography of musical artist message from one of the men, Two bullied high school students Jay-Z that details his journey Lindsey feels forced to say yes to hold their fellow classmates from adolescent drug dealer to everything each man demands. hostage with stolen guns and multi-million dollar business- homemade bombs. man and performer. Far From Xanadu Julie Anne Peters Glass Hotlanta Protagonist Mike (born Mary- Ellen Hopkins Denene Millner Elizabeth) must come to terms The sequel to Crank, this is the The story of twins who, despite with her homosexuality as she continuing story of Kristina and living privileged lives, deal with ponders her escape from her drug addiction. Told in verse, it’s an incarcerated father, a murder, small-town home. a harrowing and disturbing look and insincere relationships. at addiction and the damage that Feed Identical it inflicts. M.T. Anderson Ellen Hopkins A tale of a society in which Go Ask Alice A story of a severely dysfunc- infants are “plugged in” to com- Anonymous tional family whose teenage twin puters that dictate their desires This anonymous account of an daughters are in physical danger and behaviors. adolescent rapidly losing control and emotional crisis.
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 25 If Pigs Could Fly… And family’s problems and prevent No, David! Other Deep Thoughts her parents from getting a di- David Shannon Bruce Lansky vorce. An illustrated children’s book A collection of poems on topics that portrays the title character It’s Perfectly Normal: such as dirty socks and toothless doing a variety of mischievous Changing Bodies… relatives. things. Robie Harris Impulse An informative reference book Olive’s Ocean Ellen Hopkins that covers topics such as pu- Kevin Henkes Three troubled teens cross paths berty, birth control, and concep- After receiving a note from a at Aspen Springs, a psychiatric tion. deceased classmate, a young girl hospital, after attempting suicide. realizes her own mortality while Las Aventuras also experiencing many of her In Our Mothers’ House Del Super-Bebe Panal life’s “firsts.” Patricia Polacco Dav Pilkey This book describes the happy A Spanish-language graphic Paranoid Park and well-adjusted life of a fam- novel of Captain Underpants Blake Nelson ily with two mothers who raise and his companions, who favor A teenage boy must face the guilt several racially different children. potty-humored adventures. he experiences after inadvertent- ly causing a man’s death. In the Lake of the Woods Tom Brown’s Schooldays Tim O’Brien Thomas Hughes Parrot In The Oven After John’s bid for Senate is de- A semi-autobiographical account Victor Martinez railed due to his behavior during of a young boy’s experiences with As he matures, a Hispanic teen- the Vietnam War, his wife Kathy bullying and friendships. ager is confronted with poverty, disappears, which raises new neighborhood gangs, and famil- More Horowitz Horror questions about John’s past. ial strife. Anthony Horowitz In The Night Kitchen Nine horror stories, involving Reality Matters: Under The Maurice Sendak things such as a cell phone that Influence (video) A nighttime adventure in a receives calls from the dead and Video that explores the potential baker’s kitchen narrated by a other paranormal activity. harms of alcohol on teenagers. child. My Sister’s Keeper She’s Got The Beat It Jodi Picoult Nancy Krulik Stephen King A story of one girl’s fight to keep Upon arriving at college, Miran- Having already once thwarted an her organs her own, despite hav- da begins taking drum lessons, evil responsible for several grue- ing been genetically engineered which lead her to romance and some murders, a group of seven to be a perfect match for her can- new friendships. individuals is called upon again cer-stricken sister. Snitch to battle evil. Naruto Allison van Diepen It’s Not the Kishimoto High school student Julia joins a End of the World A series of graphic novels that gang, only to be confronted with Judy Blume details the adventures of a young drugs, sex, violence, and unstable Young Karen plots to resolve her ninja. relationships.
26 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Spanking Shakespeare forced, by his mother, to keep a apart when one decides to have a Jake Wizner diary of the school year’s events. secret affair with a fellow class- As part of a school project, mate. The History and Methods teenager Shakespeare Shapiro of Torture The World’s meticulously documents his Brian Innes Most Evil People senior year. A historical account of 3,000 Rodney Castleden Story of Colors/La Historia years of torture in various loca- An account of some of the De Los Colores tions around the world. world’s most evil individuals, Subcomandante including Vlad the Impaler and The Hunger Games Marcos Stalin that also details the indi- Suzanne Collins A Mexican folk tale that de- viduals’ preferred methods of In a dystopic future world, a scribes how the gods created the torture, killing, maiming, etc. teenage girl is forced to partici- colors of the world. pate in a worldwide competition Then Again, Maybe I Won’t Suck It Up that is part entertainment, part Judy Blume Brian Meehl violence. Already having to deal with the The story of a special-needs mis- awkwardness of adolescence, The Idiots Guide to Wicca fit vampire. protagonist Tony must also face & Witchcraft the changes that arise when his The Catcher In The Rye Denise Zimmerman father becomes rich and moves J.D. Salinger and Katherine A. his family to a wealthy city. Having been expelled from prep Gleason school, narrator Holden Caul- A “how-to” book giving a history Thirteen Reasons Why field describes his disillusion of witchcraft and earth-based Jay Asher with the world. religion. Also provides advice for A teenage boy receives tapes of a casting spells. dead classmate’s voice and begins The Cookcamp to investigate the circumstances Gary Paulsen The Kite Runner that led up to the classmate’s Khaled Hosseini Sent to live with his grandmoth- suicide. er in a remote part of Minnesota, Haunted by an act of childhood a young boy longs for his parents disloyalty, protagonist Amir Time-Life Magazine while also admiring the work- returns to Afghanistan and wit- A worldwide news magazine. men near his grandmother’s nesses many of the injustices ttfn house. perpetrated by the Taliban. Lauren Myracle The Creature from the The Schernoff Discoveries Through instant message lan- Depths Gary Paulsen guage, three high school friends Mark Kidwell A story of two awkward adoles- weather the trials of moving, A graphic novel that tells the sto- cents who experience first dates, drug experimentation, and rela- ry of a deep sea treasure guarded joyrides, and other adventures. tionships. by a mythical monster. The True Meaning Twilight The Diary of a Wimpy Kid of Cleavage Stephanie Meyer Jeff Kinney Mariah Fredericks High school student Bella falls Middle-school student Greg is Two high school friends are torn in love with her fellow classmate
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 27 Edward, who is a vampire.
Wake Lisa McMann Teenage Janie is capable of seeing into other people’s dreams, and she begins to wonder how this ability will affect her own future.
What My Mother Doesn’t Know Sonya Sones Protagonist Sophie experiences a series of teenage crushes and deals with the embarrassment of her mother’s soap-opera devo- tion.
Would I Lie to You Cecily von Ziegesar Another Gossip Girl novel de- tailing the lives and experiences of privileged New York City teenagers; this particular story takes place in the Hamptons, the summer before the main charac- ters begin college.
Zombies On The Loose Anne Rooney Contains sections such as “a zombie legend,” “zombie slaves,” and “are zombies real?”
28 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ T o K ill a Mockingbi rd , 5 0 Y e a r s L at e r
Speaking with Mary McDonagh Murphy
ary McDonagh Murphy is a journalist who fell in love with To Kill a Mockingbird as a teenager. MWhen she revisited the book as an adult, she was moved to travel down to Monroeville, Alabama, where Harper Lee grew up to research the roots of the book. She recently finished a documentary entitled Hey Boo and published a book about the lasting impact of To Kill a Mocking- bird. As she interviewed acclaimed novelists and thinkers of our time, she realized the book continues to inspire young writers and exert a pull on readers’ imaginations like few others. For the last 40 years, Harper Lee has famously refused to give interviews. She never published another book. As such, Mary Murphy is one of the leading experts on To Kill a Mockingbird and the small town Southern landscape that inspired it.
Q: You were a journalist at CBS? What made about it 50 years later. And I would wager that it you fall in love with these characters and inspired may not be you and me, but that people will still be you to write a book and produce a documentary? talking about it in 100 years. A: To Kill a Mockingbird had a huge effect on me Q: How old were you when you first read it? when I read it as a younger girl. At the time, I was A: I think I was about 18. I almost escaped high largely completely besotted by Scout Finch. I just school without actually reading the novel. When my thought she was fantastic and hilarious and would mother and my sister figured this out, they sort of probably grow up to be a writer some day. crawled across the kitchen table one morning… I But it was really my adult re-reading of the book read the book and saw the movie. that made the greatest impression on me. I decided It’s one of the only books that I had to read in to go exploring and see what I could find out about high school that I remember really enjoying. the novel and where it came from. I began to look It’s often the first adult book we read when into the kind of impact that it’s had. I worked as a we’re still pretty much kids. For many people that journalist for 20 years at CBS News, and along the I’ve talked to, it’s the first time a young reader gets way I pitched this as a story different times in differ- completely kidnapped by a novel, captivated from ent forms. Whoever I was working with came back beginning to end. and said, “Well if Harper Lee’s not going to do an Wally Lamb [famous novelist] describes this. interview, then there’s no real news value.” Whenever he did a book report, he picked the short- But once I left CBS News and I was doing my est books he could find. His sister had been raving own documentaries and casting about, I read the about this novel, he went and picked it up, and then novel again. And I saw very clearly this time that the he – the pokiest reader in the world – just sat there story was the novel. The story is the phenomenon until it was done. I think we all know what that feels that the novel became and the effect that it had on like. And for many people, this was the book that so many people. It still endures. We’re still talking did that to them.
30 FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Q: Do you understand the flip side? What Radley represents how you judge. It tells you some- about this book makes people so angry? thing about judgment in general. A: Not everybody likes the novel. Many of those Q: Did you know immediately Hey Boo was people are parents who find that some of the things what you wanted to name your documentary? dealt with – whether it’s race relations being por- A: The more I delved into it… Oprah Winfrey trayed in a way they don’t like, or the fact that there’s tells me that she had lunch with Harper Lee in New a rape in it – people have trouble with some of that. I York. It was an effort for Oprah to try to get her to can see it, but I’ve also always thought that literature come on her show. And Harper Lee basically said is not history or sociology, it’s literature. And you to her, “Do you know Boo Radley? If you know Boo can’t necessarily treat it any other way. Radley, then you know me and you know why I Q: I think other books which are also part of won’t be going on TV.” the curriculum have had rape scenes, so it’s always Q: Why do you think that Harper Lee retreated made me feel that perhaps it really is about the so completely from the press and public attention? social implications of race or the free-spirited Is she a shy person? feminist character that Scout represents. Do you A: I can’t speak for her. I can tell you what other agree? people told me. Her editor wrote that she was a shy A: I’ve never read that anyone’s objected to Scout person. I think surely that kind of fame must have as a reason to challenge the book. Though you’re ab- been overwhelming to a 34-year-old person from a solutely right. Scout had more freedom as a six-year- small town who, first time out, basically wrote a best- old girl growing up in the Depression than most selling masterpiece. And it wasn’t just a best-selling American women had in the 1960’s when the book novel, it got turned into a masterpiece of a movie. was published. She wore pants, she played with boys, It won the Pulitzer Prize. These were huge things in and she spoke her mind. In 1960, in this country, succession very quickly. I think you could see how that was not necessarily the way it was going. that could have overwhelmed a person like that. Q: I feel like everyone fixates on Scout and At- Her sister Alice still practices law every day at the ticus. My favorite character is Boo Radley. What firm that her father helped found in Monroeville, was his function in the book? What do you think Alabama. I spent a lot of time with Miss Alice. She he represents? said that Harper Lee got misquoted in the press and A: Harper Lee beautifully wrote and articulated didn’t like it and just decided that it wasn’t really the something that’s in every town and every neighbor- place of a writer to be this familiar or this quoted hood. There’s a Boo Radley practically everywhere. or recognized. So she stopped giving interviews. It I think we can all talk about some house that was a doesn’t mean that she’s a recluse. You can’t equate little bit scary or a person you only saw behind the not giving interviews with being Boo Radley. blinds, peeking out. As children, the kind of suspense Q: Did she have to bear the brunt of the criti- and imagination and creepiness that you can build cism or the attacks on the book at the time? up around a person like that is a very familiar thing. A: No, I don’t think so. I know that she was asked Scout says, “Hey Boo.” That is one of the greatest about it in a Newsweek article. A county in Virginia reveals in a novel ever. What you’ve been expecting had famously banned it, and she did write a very about Boo all this time tells you something about good – if not tongue ‘n cheek – letter to the editor. yourself. The fact that Boo turns out to be not a So there was that. But I don’t think she personally monster, but capable of incredible kindness… Boo had to answer for the book.
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 31 Q: Do you think she was trying to write a politi- or a camera focused on yourself and reveal your cal book or was even aware of how political a lot of shortcomings along with your beauty? Do people the implications were? there tend to be proud of the book? A: She herself said, “This is a love story, plain A: I think they are. I think it’s a book that changed & simple.” I don’t think she set out to write a novel people’s minds, and you know, that rarely happens. about race or to make a political statement. Every- The novel was beautifully done – a story well told, thing I’ve heard and read about her would suggest great characters, had an important message, a social that’s not the way she operated. I think she wrote a message. Because it had all these other ingredients, novel. And it’s a novel about many, many things. It’s it really gave Southerners a way to think about the about childhood. It’s about growing up. It’s about system in which they’d been raised – and to find parenthood. It’s about love. It’s about loneliness. It’s another way. A lot of that had to do with the story about tolerance. It’s also about race and justice, and being told through the eyes of a child, as an adult I think all of those things are beautifully intertwined looking back. to make the novel. I think it made a great difference to white South- The other thing that’s important to say is, it’s a erners… and black Southerners too. It allowed peo- great read. The characters are indelible, incredible. ple to question the system, to begin to understand And it’s a novel of suspense as well. that there was something morally bizarre about the Q: What does that mean, It’s a love story, pure situation. and simple? Q: Does it surprise you that still, every year A: I interpret that on many levels. It’s about a love there’s some school somewhere, where a parent for the South, a love for your family, a love of man- objects to having the book read? kind, of humankind honestly. And a kind of remind- A: I don’t how often that happens. But I think er to people that that’s what life is about. some of that is about treating literature like it’s Q: It’s a beautiful way to describe a story which sociology, which I don’t think you should do. There’s has no big romantic plotline, no leading man and also something else going on which is this: there’s no leading lady. another group that’s saying, “We don’t need to teach A: Exactly. And it’s not a love story in a romantic this anymore – because Obama’s in the White House. sense at all, though sometimes you do wonder what There’ve been incredible strides and progress. This is Miss Maudie’s doing over there at Atticus’ house. not a world that we recognize anymore, nor should Q: What was it like going down to Monroeville? we.” A: I was fortunate to spend a lot of time with I think we’re still gonna be reading it. As long as Harper Lee’s sister and to learn a lot about how they people are arrested in situations where there’s racial grew up. Miss Alice tutored me in Alabama soil, profiling. As long as there’s injustice. It tells a story politics and history, literature, government. we all know is true. I’m a Northerner. It’s a very different world there I think that argument overlooks some funda- in Alabama – I found it fascinating. I love the way mental aspects of the movie. It’s set in the ‘30’s, and people told stories and the language, and the roll- Atticus Finch is not a crusading civil rights attorney. ing hills of Alabama, that in their own way were like He was a man in town who was assigned the case. Tuscany. It’s not like he took this on. But what he did, to the Q: How do people there feel about the book? It’s surprise of his neighbors and townspeople, was rig- obviously a lot harder to have the lens of a writer orously defend Tom Robinson.
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Post-script Mary McDonagh Murphy’s documentary Hey Boo is now being shown in film festivals and independent theatres. Consult www.marymurphy.net for screenings. Her book – Atticus, Scout & Boo – is on the New York Times extended bestseller list. She hopes it will become used as a study guide, with teachers taking quotes about what those she’s interviewed have said about To Kill a Mockingbird and using it a springboard for discussion.
FREE PEOPLE READ FREELY: 14th ANNUAL REPORT ON CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 33 Executive Committee Board of Directors Paul H. Asofsky, President David Chang James Aldrete, Vice President, Program Jaime Diez Kurt Schwarz, Vice President, Development Nancy Friedman Michael R. Wyatt, Vice President, Legal MaryScott Hagle Richard Alvarado, National Board Representative Gilberto Hinojosa Fran Compton, Treasurer Reggie James Lee Henderson, Secretary Annette Lamoreaux Madan Goyal, Affirmative Action Officer Stephen T. Loden Lisa White Shirley STAFF Mohammad Tariq, M.D. Terri Burke, Executive Director Rev. Emilee Dawn Whitehurst Lisa Graybill, Legal Director Susan C. Young Dotty Griffith,Di rector of Public Education Mark Yzaguirre Cheryl M. Newcomb, Director of Development Gouri Bhat, Senior Staff Attorney ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Kathryn Brimacombe, Public Affairs Coordinator Author Srikant Cheruvu, Legal Program Fellow Jessie Torrisi Victor Cornell, Office Manager Managing Editor Edith Galvan, Legal Program Associate Kathryn Brimacombe Tracey Hayes, Outreach & Advocacy Coordinator JoAnn Kennedy, Annual Fund and Designer Development Coordinator Julie Cromeens Frank Knaack, Legal Advocacy Coordinator José Medina, Media Coordinator Betsy Moon, Development Associate Matt Simpson, Policy Strategist Adrienna Wong, Legal Program Fellow Houston Office Maida Asofsky, Houston Regional Director
Special Thanks to Amy Lanteigne Jen Moreno Madisen Obiedo Mary McDonagh Murphy Adrian C. Sinott Adam Supgul Texas Library Association Teachers, librarians and school administrators in the state of Texas