You’re confusing “appropriate age range due to content” and “appropriate age range due to reading level”. By and large, most of the books create for kids aged 4-11 are roughly the same in content level. It’s why you see stuff like SpongeBob SquarePants books in both picture book form (for 4-7 year olds) and in chapter book form (for 8-11 year olds).
For a middle school library, everything will be content appropriate, librarians just have to steer kids to reading level appropriate books.
That is not the case once you reach Young Adult literature. The age ranges listed are purely content driven at that point.
Not reading level, acceptability level. You can have books written for adults that would be acceptable (although difficult) for a child to read. On preview- what Justin_Bailey said.
No, actually I wasn’t confusing content and reading level. I can think of several topics and styles of writing that are content appropriate for a 5th grader that may not be appropriate for a pre-K student. Slavery as a topic is the first to pop into my head. There are books in my daughter’s elementary school library that deal with slavery that are not completely sugar coated. I doubt most Pre-K students are ready to deal with that content.
Again, my OP was to state that I don’t condone other parent’s taking on the responsibility for raising my children without my consent. I think what this parent did was bullshit, and I think that the Superintendent was a wuss.
I have no doubt that all this woman actually accomplished was ensuring that even more kids will read the demon book.
So we have two opposing forces: one set of parents (A)that doesn’t want the others (B) to stop their kids from reading a book that Parent’s A think is perfectly fine.
Parents B do not want their kid to read the book, thinks it’s inappropriate.
Now if the book is in the MS library- Parent A gets their way but Parent B does not. However, parent B can not stop their kid from getting at the book, the book they do not think is right for their kid.
If the book is moved to the HS library, then parent B is happy, but parent A has to do a teensy bit of work- spend a penny or have older kid check out book at HS.
Thus Parent B is not stopping Parent A from allowing their kids to read the book, but Parent A is forcing parent B to allow their kid access.
You would be wrong then. There are plenty of Picture Books and Beginning Readers geared for the 4-7 set that are about plenty of different topics. The most commonly challenged picture books are the myriad of titles with a variation on the theme of “Why does Billy have two daddies/mommies?”
Gay content in picture books is a big deal right now and 99.9% of the challenges are disregarded without any hubbub because the content of a book about a child with two gay parents is totally benign. A picture book about slavery would similarly not be about the graphic details of slavery, but say the story of one particular slave family. For example:
I’m resuscitating this thread with the hope that it hasn’t crossed over to the realm of the zombies.
So for the fun of it, I decided to read the book in question just to see for myself what the youth of today have on their reading lists and what passes for controversy amongst some parents.
I went to the public library, checked the novel out and in fits and starts, slogged through the book these past few weeks.
My findings? I didn’t unearth one iota of anything that could be construed as remotely controversial. No inappropriate subject matter, not a word of profanity, nothing.
I revisit this thread to see what the fuss was all about and then discover:
I READ THE WRONG FUCKING BOOK!
I had checked out and read Camp Confidential: TTYL rather than TTYL by Lauren Marycle. So here I’ve been reading some dippy story about sixth grade girls and their ensuing tribulations of making the soccer team, joining the drama club, rollerblading with a new boyfriend, etc. and FOR WHAT?
And no, I’m not going to read the other book and for God’s sake, how many books out there are entitled “TTYL”???
Or just maybe, they will learn to enjoy both, for different reasons. Some stories are great literature. They become timless classics because they are just so good.
Some things, like comic books, are simple escapism (villains always lose, good guys always win, everyone wears a ridiculous outfit). Still and all, the fact that they are reading at all, is a good thing.
I can understand that a school is running their own library and should be allowed to control what is there. But, when (APPARENTLY) their own estimations of what is acceptable - and the recommendations of their own review boards - can be overturned by one loudmouthed busybody, that is a bit too much.
Ending comment: I didn’t read whatever book we are talking about.