Several Controversial Books Almost Pulled From Iowa School Shelves
Several books were on the chopping block this week at one Iowa school. After a month long battle, many Urbandale parents finally have an answer as to the status of five specific books.
Urbandale School District officials made a decision on whether or not five controversial books will be pulled from their shelves on Monday. Several parents made a movement to pull multiple books from Urbandale schools.
The content in some of these books that parents had issues with included violence, obscene language, explicit sexual content, and gender identity.
These books that were examined included;
1. "Hey Kiddo"
"The powerful, unforgettable graphic memoir from Jarrett Krosoczka, about growing up with a drug-addicted mother, a missing father, and two unforgettably opinionated grandparents."
"In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys."
"Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere."
4. "Lawn Boy"
"Lawn Boy is an important, entertaining, and completely winning novel about social class distinctions, about overcoming cultural discrimination, and about standing up for oneself."
5. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian"
"Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot."
This decision was finally reached December 13th at the Urbandale School Board meeting. The board decided to keep the controversial books in the school libraries. Obviously, this was met by mixed opinions.
This instance is one of many attempts in Iowa schools to remove specific books from their facilities. At Waukee Northwest High School, several books were taken out of the school libraries due to their graphic nature and explicit illustrations.
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