Gay penguins book tops list of titles Americans want banned

[Andy]

A children's book about two male penguins who adopt a baby chick is the book most Americans want banned, according to the American Library Association (ALA).

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell has been slammed as anti-family, anti-religion and pro-gay.

The top ten list features the most challenged titles of 2008 and has been running for 20 years.

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director of the ALA's office for intellectual freedom, told the Guardian: "Books that address same-sex parenting, or same-sex relationships, are particularly prone to challenges in the US.

"In the case of And Tango Makes Three, there are many parents who believe it inappropriate to teach children anything at all about homosexual relationships, even in the form of a picture book about a true story."

Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy rose to second place over its violent scenes and religious viewpoint, while The Kite Runner, by Khaleed Hosseini, which features a 12-year-old boy being raped entered the list for the first time after being removed from some library shelves.

The books dropping out of this year's list included Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (criticised for racism), Alice Walker's The Color Purple (challenged for sexual content, homosexual content and offensive language) and Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (sexual content).

Ms Caldwell-Stone said: "While not every book is right for each reader, every reader has the right to choose reading materials for themselves and their families and should be able to find those materials in libraries, classrooms, and bookstores.

"Our goal is to protect one of our most precious fundamental rights - our freedom to read."

The ALA celebrates Banned Books Week every year in the last week of September.

What a shame and shame on those who want to ban books. Still, I suppose banning a work of fiction is far easier than coming up with a logical argument about the harm done by reading it.

Having read "And Tango Makes Three" it is a charming enough little tale. Sadly there seems to be too small a market in the UK for children's books about same-sex relationships to worry most publishers' pending trays. The titles available in this country are mostly by American authors.

The idea that anyone might want to ban the His Dark Materials trilogy is very odd indeed. It's a riveting read. I suppose the main danger is that it might make people think?

[ardus]

Censorship is always wrong, no matter if you think the subject matter is disgusting or not. I'm sure those who are speaking out feel they are right as I imagine my family would join them, I just don't agree with them. No work should be censored based on its content, all literary works should be available to all people to decide for themselves if they like them.
Richard

[yar]

Originally Posted by ardus

Censorship is always wrong, no matter if you think the subject matter is disgusting or not. I'm sure those who are speaking out feel they are right as I imagine my family would join them, I just don't agree with them. No work should be censored based on its content, all literary works should be available to all people to decide for themselves if they like them.
Richard

WOW some thing we can agree on kudos to you. Censorship is wrong and those who would like to mandate what everyone else reads are wrong.

I don't get why this book even exists. Why bring issues like same sex relationships and adoption into childrens picture books? Seems kinda wrong to me.

Originally Posted by Australia

I don't get why this book even exists. Why bring issues like same sex relationships and adoption into childrens picture books? Seems kinda wrong to me.

But isn't that the point? We've been so conditioned to feel uncomfortable about the way some people live that we end up not liking ourselves very much. Whilst most children in schools will be living in traditional families there are an increasing number who don't and are unlikely to have that experience. For years there have been books in schools about making friendships and how to deal with aspects of everyday life. This is just another attempt to present images of a broader society and give opportunities for hitherto marginalised children to feel included.

I am pretty sure that one of the reasons I took so long to come out was that being in a same-sex relationship never struck me as an option. Have you seen any of these titles, Australia? I recommend you have a look at some. For the most part they are sensitively written and very child-centred and do not make a fuss about homosexuality as the book banners would have us believe.

[yar]

WAY TO GO marshlander. It took 67 years for me to come out of the closet now I'm out Proud and very vocal about it . Further more a hater of all forms of censorship.

Originally Posted by yar

WAY TO GO marshlander. It took 67 years for me to come out of the closet now I'm out Proud and very vocal about it . Further more a hater of all forms of censorship.

Really proud to know you, yar