LGBTQ Kids’ Books Challenged Again
The American Library Association (ALA) has released its annual list of the 10 most frequently challenged books—and once again, ones with LGBTQ content are on it.
The American Library Association (ALA) has released its annual list of the 10 most frequently challenged books—and once again, ones with LGBTQ content are on it.
Here’s a roundup of some of the things happening in the world of LGBTQ parenting while I was busy with my own family this past week.
This week marks not only the start of fall, but also Banned Books Week, the annual celebration of the freedom to read. LGBTQ-inclusive books for children and young adults are often among those challenged by parents or library patrons — but many have escaped attempts to ban or restrict them. Is this good news or bad?
Let’s round it up, folks. Here’s what’s been happening while I was busy cooking and stuffing myself on turkey and pie this past week or so. (I’m Jewish; I take this whole “eight-day holiday” thing seriously.)
I’m having a feeling of déjà vu. Four years ago, I was waiting to see if Barack Obama would be elected president; waiting to see the outcome of a ballot measure in California that would decide the legality of marriage equality in that state; and baffled that a patron of a Colorado library had asked for the removal or reshelving of the children’s picture book Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, claiming it was “inappropriate for children” because it showed two anthropomorphic male guinea pigs getting married.
This week marks the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week, bringing issues of LGBT content in children’s books once again to the fore.
It’s Banned Books Week, the annual celebration of the freedom to read! In honor of the event, here’s a video of gay dads Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, authors of And Tango Makes Three, reading from their book, which for several years topped the American Library Association’s list of most challenged books.
Author Todd Parr has responded with the video below (after the jump) to the banning of his The Family Book by an Illinois school board. They banned the book after some parents complained about a page that says, “Some families have two moms or two dads.” Todd Parr is awesome.
I was focused on Blogging for LGBT Families Day all last week (and I encourage you to go read everyone’s wonderful posts, if you haven’t), but the world of LGBT parenting didn’t stop going on around us. Here are some of the top stories from the past week.
I often write about banned books here, and love the annual Banned Books Week in September. This year, the American Library Association is encouraging anyone celebrating the freedom to read to take part in a Virtual Read-Out on YouTube. School Library Journal has the details: The criteria are simple: create a video that’s less than two minutes