Parent seeks to ban book series from school libraries
“Bone” graphic novels by Jeff Smith not age appropriate for ISD 196 elementary students, mom says
by Erin Johnson
Thisweek Newspapers
Time Magazine described the popular books as beloved favorites of kids and adults – sort of a more humorous “Lord of the Rings” – and the best all-ages graphic novel yet published.
But an Apple Valley mother wants the “Bone” series by Jeff Smith banned from school district libraries because it contains references to smoking, drinking and gambling.
The books “caught me off guard,” said Ramona DeLay, who discovered them when her fifth-grade son checked one out from the Southview Elementary library.
DeLay is requesting that the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District remove the books from all of its elementary school libraries because she believes they are inappropriate for children.
But library advocates say DeLay is taking her objection too far.
“Our position is that individuals should have the freedom to choose for themselves the materials they and their families are going to read,” said Angela Maycock, assistant director of the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom.
A district committee will convene at 4:15 p.m. April 27 to hear DeLay’s case and review the book.
The committee, made up of teachers, parents, a principal and two school media specialists, will allow both DeLay and a district media specialist 15 minutes to argue their positions. The meeting will be held at the District Office, 3455 153rd St. W. in Rosemount, and is open to the public.
Twelve of the district’s 18 elementary schools currently have at least one of the “Bone” books in their libraries.
The series, made up of nine volumes, is about the adventures of the Bone family – bald, white, big-nosed cartoon characters – whose epic journey begins when they’re exiled from their hometown of Boneville.
The popular series has won multiple awards, including 10 Eisner and 11 Harvey awards for comic books.
But DeLay told the district the books contain themes too mature for children in elementary school.
In her written request that the district reconsider carrying the books, DeLay described her objection to the series: “One of the main settings is a pub. The bartender continually asks characters if they want ‘another round’ of ‘pints.’”
Some characters also smoke cigarettes, pipes and cigars throughout the books, as well as fix races and take bets, she wrote. She also alleges one female character uses flirtation and sexual gestures to get her way.
“Although it is a graphic novel that appeals to all ages, if looked at closer, the content and graphics used are not appropriate for younger-aged children,” she wrote.
DeLay, an educational assistant with the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District, said she has already restricted her children’s access to the books at their school, so they can no longer check them out.
But she is concerned for other parents who might not be aware of these books.
“I felt I had to do something to protect my children,” she said. “I’m also concerned for parents who don’t have the opportunity to see what books their kids are bringing home.”
DeLay acknowledges she did not personally see the books that allegedly contain sexual references, but said she heard about them from other parents and in an online chat room. The books her son brought home did include characters drinking, smoking, and gambling, she said.
It was her military husband – the one “least sensitive to these issues” – who advised her to take a closer look at the books.
“A lot of it is just there in graphics, you don’t really read it in outright verbiage. The pictures are there,” she said. “I know my son particularly learns more visually.”
Maycock said the American Library Association has only received about three or four reports of the “Bone” books being challenged nationwide over the past couple of years.
The organization’s Office of Intellectual Freedom keeps track of such challenges and advocates against any book banning in public or school libraries.
The “Bone”’ series was written specifically for young readers, she said. It’s perfectly fine if DeLay doesn’t want her own children reading these books, but she is taking it too far by trying to restrict the access of others, she said.
“It’s not just someone expressing their opinion, instead it’s someone saying, ‘I didn’t like this, so I want the rights and access of other people to be impacted,’” she said. “The problem is, what’s offensive and objectionable to one person is not necessarily offensive and objectionable to another person.”
Libraries – even school libraries – are required to provide a wide range of materials in order to meet the needs of everyone. It would be a shame to deny other students the benefit and access to these popular materials because they’re objectionable to one individual, she said.
“It’s fantastic when parents are engaged with what their kids are reading. They are precisely the right ones to guide their children’s reading,” she said. “But that right really ends with an individual’s family. It does not extend to other families.”
DeLay disagrees. She said she believes it’s important to make other parents aware of what’s available at school libraries, regardless of what critics say.
“I would ask them, do you want to try to protect your children and allow them to have a childhood before they’re thrown a book that introduces them to these messages?” she said.
The last time the district reviewed a request to ban a book was in 2006 when another Apple Valley parent objected to the book “Abduction” by Peg Kehret. That parent argued the book had too much violence and was not age-appropriate for elementary or middle school students.
The committee in that case voted unanimously to keep the book available in the district’s elementary and middle school libraries, said District Communications Specialist Tony Taschner.
According to the American Library Association, parents challenge reading materials more than any other group, and the vast majority of those challenges are aimed at schools and school libraries.
The most challenged book nationwide since 2000 has been the Harry Potter series, the ALA said.
Erin Johnson is at eagan.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.
If everyone with an objection to what is in print got their way the library shelve would be empty.
I am also including the bible!
I am proud of this woman to take a stand. This book does NOT belong in the school system of young children. It DOES take a village to raise a child. Kudos to a mom who cares about what her child can pick up at school. (It’s bad enough with what is on the television). This is not about free speech, but rather about looking after those who are vulnerable and not ready to make a right decision. This is the job of the school to help us moms/dads who get in there and fight for something that could possibly cause our children to make bad decisions.
Katie
Rather than trying to get books banned, this mother should have used this as a learning opportunity. Explain to her child that smoking and drinking are no good for you, etc.
Because let me tell you, if your kids aren’t finding out from you about these things, they are finding out from their peers, or the internet, and if I were a parent I would rather my child get the facts from me.
Also, the BONE series is a great read overall, and has much good in it. The value of trusting others, and sticking together even in tough times, and the importance of friends and family.
Wow. How can anyone agree with this? If you’d actually read the books, you’ll see why I feel that my reading of BONE in 4th and 5th grades is one of the best things that ever happened to me.