“To Kill a Mockingbird”, #4 on ALA’s 2009 Top Ten list of most frequently challenged books, turns 50. It has been challenged for racism, offensive language, and unsuited to age group.

According to an article from The New York Times, “all summer “To Kill a Mockingbird” will be relived through at least 50 events around the country, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the publication of a book that became a cultural touchstone and an enduring staple of high-school reading programs.”

Following up on the case from a previous NDLA IF Blog posting, “the Knox County School Board voted six to three, May 5, to keep a controversial textbook in the classroom” according to an article in The Knoxville Journal by Ben Cannon.

Excerpt:

“The book “Asking About Life” and its controversial statement of the Judeo-Christian creation story as a “myth” has been a hot topic of debate since February. Frank Zimmerman, a Farragut High School student’s father, filed a complaint with the school system over what he called a bias against Christian ideology earlier this year.

…

The book had already been reviewed and approved in February by a special panel consisting of Farragut High School teachers, principals and students and found to be more than acceptable.

After about two hours of deliberation ranging from personal feelings over the use of the term “myth” when referring to Judeo-Christian ideology to solutions on how to keep future science books from sparking similar controversy, the members of the board voted to uphold the panel’s findings.

Indya Kincannon, Chair of the Knox County School Board, drafted the motion that upheld the book review committee’s decision.

In the motion, Kincannon wrote that the board of education regrets the authors’ use of the term “myth” as an unfortunate choice of wording, and that the Superintendent of Schools Jim McIntyre should purchase the new biology textbooks already approved as soon as fiscally responsible.”

The banning of Revolutionary Voices is announced in this previous NDLA IF Blog post.

Now, free speech groups fight back according to this article in the Toronto Sun (May 10, 2010).

Excerpts:

“U.S. Free speech groups are fighting back after a conservative group successfully lobbied to have an anthology of art and literature by young homosexuals banned from a New Jersey high school.

New Jersey’s Rancocas Valley Regional High School banned Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology last week following a campaign by the local chapter of broadcaster Glenn Beck’s conservative 9.12 project.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which publishes Revolutionary Voices, describes the book as “the first creative resource by and for queer and questioning youth of every colour, class, religion, gender and ability.”

…

A coalition of free speech advocates, led by the National Coalition Against Censorship, are fighting the ban.

“No one has to read something just because it’s on the library shelf. No book is right for everyone, and the role of the library is to allow students to make choices according to their own interests, experiences, and family values,” reads a letter to Rancocas Valley Regional High School, signed by leaders of the National Council of Teachers of English, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, People For the American Way Foundation and more….”

By Michael Brindley | NashuaTelegraph.com | May 10, 2010

From Original Article:

A Pennichuck Middle School parent is challenging whether “Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story” should be available to students in middle school libraries.

The parent, whose name was not released, is objecting to the book’s themes of talking to the dead, spiritualism and “the belief that a part of the body survives after death and that you can communicate with it,” according to the School District.

The book, written in 1986 by Mary Downing Hahn, is a horror novel intended for young adults. The story is about a 7-year-old girl named Heather who begins communicating with the ghost of a little girl named Helen. A search of various websites puts the book at a reading level of children ages 9-12.

Althea Sheaff, executive director of curriculum for the district, said eight to 10 copies of the book are available in the city’s three middle school libraries.

“The books are used for independent reading or for a small group,” Sheaff wrote in an e-mail. “It is not a required reading selection.”

…

Conrad said the district will follow its policy of establishing a seven-member Instructional Materials Review Committee. The committee is made up of the principal, teacher and librarian from the school, staff member responsible for selecting the book, the assistant superintendent and two members of the Board of Education.

The committee is responsible for reviewing the complaint and coming up with a recommendation to the superintendent. Part of the committee’s job will be to read the book in question. The complainant can appeal the decision of the superintendent to the Board of Education.