Hooray for Librarians with Guts!

Thursday, October 01, 2009

Reading Twitter can sometimes be repetitive and many times you aren't learning anything new that you want to learn.:) But occasionally Twitter can bring you to an old story or show you a new one that is developing. That is the case with this letter to a librarian about the children's book, Uncle Bobby's Wedding by Sarah S. Brannen. Recently a woman sent an irate letter to this librarian asking that the book be either taken off the shelves or placed in another area where parents could monitor it. This kind of behavior has caused many books to be banned and removed from their local libraries. People would rather get rid of a book than allow their children to read material of which they don't approve. The librarian wrote a letter back to the woman explaining why this book needed to stay right where it was!

Being a children's writer I usually keep up with the new releases. So when this book was released this year it created a very big stir. But this book is harmless and deals with a very complicated issue in a very simple way. The idea of gay marriage has it opponents and proponents. But this children's book allows young children to understand what is happening here. As the librarian explains, this understanding and beautifully written book shows the story of a young girl who worries that she will lose her uncle if he gets married. The letter that was sent back to the woman was very thoughtful and explored every possibility. Though the story happened in July it is still very timely. It shows the power of words. This librarian's letter gives you hope that more people will be able to answer the narrow minded people who call for banning or hiding controversial books.

Until the next time thank you to my readers and to anyone who has just found these meanderings. I hope that some of you got a chance to hear my new show on Blog Talk Radio that had it's first airing last Thursday, called Red River Writers Tales from the Pages. Happy October!!!

3 comments

Barbara EhrentreuOctober 8, 2009 at 1:22 PM
I realized this was a controversial topic when I posted it and I expected at least one comment here. I did get a lovely comment from the author, Sarah S. Brennan.

This topic will not go away, though many want to sweep it under the rug. Having a children's book out there to help children understand this if it is in their life is a big plus!
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Leigh PurtillOctober 17, 2009 at 5:18 PM
I'm always shocked by parents who feel they have a right to restrict OTHER parents' kids from reading something. Can't they simply keep it out of their own children's hands without impinging on the rights of everyone else?
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Barbara EhrentreuOctober 18, 2009 at 4:52 AM
Leigh,
Thank you for visiting and commenting.

I totally agree with you. When I was teaching the only restriction I put on kids was that they be able to read at least a few words of the book they chose in the library. The topic was never important to me. When you lay all the books out for kids to read they will choose the ones they like. Parents should not be able to cause a librarian to censor books. Free choice is at the heart of learning to read.

Sarah Brennan's book is a way for some kids in a situation like this to understand it. Having a sweet book like this one is a gift for some parents.
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