Melinda Beatty’s delightful new picture book, What Is a Pirate? isn’t even out until next week, but the elementary school she herself attended has already rescinded an invitation for an author visit because of concerns that some people might take offense to the story’s gender-nonconforming protagonist.
Beatty posted on Threads yesterday that for months she’d been planning her Friday visit to her old elementary school in Frederick County, Maryland. “I was excited to stand in the cafeteria where I’d once eaten lunch, legs barely long enough to touch the floor, and talk about storytelling with K-3 students, who were already being prepared for my visit by a dedicated school librarian,” she wrote.
She then related that Monday, she was told that her visit was cancelled, because the principal had “concerns about the content of the book and how it might be received by conservative members of the community.”
The story, illustrated by Stefano Tambellini and published by Little Bee Books, is a humorous tale of Montague Frippington von Fancypants, a pirate whose fancy clothes and good manners differentiate him from the rest of the crew. He also sometimes wears petticoats to stay cool and dons a pearl necklace because it makes him “feel pretty.” When Captain Bogbrush tells him, “Pirates don’t do that!” Montague calmly replies, “I am a pirate, so I guess pirates do.”
Bogbrush gets increasingly frustrated, until finally, Montague reminds him that the crew is still the best one on the seas, even if some mind their manners and wear jewelry and lace. The captain relents (and discovers that petticoats do keep one pretty cool). Now, although the crew may still be the dirtiest, smelliest, and fiercest, they’re also the “where-all-crew-belongest,” “do-your-own-thingiest,” “liveliest, loyal-est” on the seas. (See my full review here.)
Beatty wrote on Threads that the disinvitation shows that, “The message of the book, which emphasizes the fact that we can all be different while working towards a common goal, was seemingly less important than a human being wearing gender non-conforming clothing.”
The county had in 2022 stood up to sweeping requests for banning books, Beatty noted, but now, “the county’s solution to book challenges is to capitulate ahead of time, removing the problem altogether.”
Beatty’s situation is sadly not unique or new; many authors can tell tales of being disinvited from book talks because of LGBTQ and/or gender non-conforming characters, or because of their own LGBTQ identities, even when the books they are talking about are not LGBTQ-inclusive. As author Robin Stevenson wrote, too, when she was disinvited from a talk in 2019, such cancellations send a message to students that there is something shameful or bad about the content that would have been shared.
Next week begins Banned Books Week, and I’ll have more then about what we can all do to fight back against ongoing book banning and censorship. In the meantime, indie bookshop Curious Iguana will still be hosting a reading with Beatty at the C. Burr Artz Public Library in Frederick, Maryland, this coming Saturday, October 3, so if you’re nearby, why not stop by to show your support and enjoy a fun event? Or talk with your own local library about extending an invitation, especially if you’re in the Maryland area. And no matter where you live, you can also pre-order What Is a Pirate? via Bookshop, Amazon, or other online or offline booksellers—and recommend that your local library acquire it. The book delivers its important message with a hilarity that’s sure to resonate with the young scallywags in your life.
As for the book’s detractors, they’re a bunch of bilge rats.
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