Goddard school district orders 29 books removed from circulation

[mahatmakanejeeves]

David Weigel Retweeted

Two of these are some of the most-circulated books on our high school library.

It's not a moral panic. We're just banning prize-winning books relating to race, gender or sexuality from school libraries.
https://kmuw.org/education/2021-11-09/goddard-school-district-orders-29-books-removed-from-circulation

Link to tweet

Education

Goddard school district orders 29 books removed from circulation

KMUW | By Suzanne Perez
Published November 9, 2021 at 3:24 PM CST

WICHITA, Kansas — The Goddard school district has removed more than two dozen books from circulation in the district’s school libraries, citing national attention and challenges to the books elsewhere.

The list of books includes several well-known novels, including “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky.

It also includes “Fences,” a play by August Wilson that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1987, and “They Called Themselves the K.K.K.,” a historical look at how the white supremacist group took root in America.

Julie Cannizzo, assistant superintendent for academic affairs in Goddard, sent an email to principals and librarians last week with the list of 29 books.

“At this time, the district is not in a position to know if the books contained on this list meet our educational goals or not,” Cannizzo wrote in the email. “Additionally, we need to gain a better understanding of the processes utilized to select books for our school libraries.

“For these reasons, please do not allow any of these books to be checked out while we are in the process of gathering more information. If a book on this list is currently checked out, please do (not) allow it to be checked out again once it's returned.”

{snip}

Here is the list of books ordered to be removed from circulation in Goddard school libraries:

“#MurderTrending” by Gretchen McNeil

“All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson

“Anger is a Gift” by Mark Oshiro

“Black Girl Unlimited” by Echo Brown

“Blended” by Sharon M. Draper

“Crank” by Ellen Hopkins

“Fences” by August Wilson

“Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” by Alison Bechdel

“Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe

“Heavy” by Kaise Laymon

“Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison

“Lily and Dunkin” by Donna Gephart

“Living Dead Girl” by Elizabeth Scott

“Monday’s Not Coming” by Tiffany D. Jackson

“Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Perez

“Satanism” by Tamara L. Roleff

“The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime that Changed Their Lives” by Dashka Slater

“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie

“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison

“The Girl Who Fell From the Sky” by Heidi W. Durrow

“The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood

“The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel” adapted by Renee Nault

“The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky

“The Testaments” by Margaret Atwood

“They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group” by Susan Campbell Bertoletti

“This Book is Gay” by James Dawson

“This One Summer” (graphic novel) by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

“Trans Mission: My Quest to a Beard” by Alex Bertie

Suzanne Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT.

The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.

Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.

[Lovie777]

1. There is social media . . ...

so reading books of any kind won't stop. This reminds me of history ya know that pesky history wherein Whites did not allow Slaves to learn how to read.

I rest my case.

[Girard442]

2. Well, of course they would ban "Handmaid's Tale."

Next up, all books about Germany in the 1930's.

Full of spoilers, dontcha know.

[marble falls]

3. I'm a bad parent. At least a quarter of those books were on our home bookshelves ...

... and most of the rest might have made it there if they had been published thirty years ago. Toni Morrison for pete's sakes.

Only a coincidence more three quarters had women authors.

[ratchiweenie]

7. My exact thought. Ban books by women. Maybe that's one element of a lawsuit.

[marble falls]

8. Intentional or not it certainly speaks to someone's bias.

[KS Toronado]

4. Sounds like some "Cancel Culture" stuff by QublicOns who rail against "Cancel Culture"

When's the public book burnings start? Reminds me of some 1930's Fascists!

[AleksS]

5. It's only "cancel culture" when someone ELSE

does it, don’t you know?

It’s kind of a corollary to IOKIYAR.

[patphil]

6. My wife is a Young Adult Librarian at a public library.

I know she has read the majority of these books; I've seen a lot of them in the house.
I know she recommends them to the teens who come into the library, and has had book discussions on several of them.
Banning books is always counter productive. It only makes them more popular, and it's impossible to prevent kids from reading them.
Also, the internet makes book banning a futile undertaking.

Parents are wasting their time getting all worked up about the books in the school library. Any child who wants to read these books will. And, they'll end up wondering what the fuss was all about.

[bahboo]

9. Friend of mine teaches in this district...

she will not be happy.