Republican Matt Krause from Texas compiled a list of 850 inappropriate books commonly found in school libraries. 255 of the books on the list are available in the Grand Haven Area Public School libraries.
Obviously, inappropriateness is a matter of opinion, but 30% of the books on the Krause list are available at GHAPS, and these books have been flagged as questionable. These books are being pushed on schools around the country by national organizations such as School Library Journal, who among other things, makes distributing LGBTQ books to schools one of their missions.
Kirkus Reviews is another source trusted by Grand Haven librarians and schools around the country. Many of their books incorporate the principals of Critical Race Theory. “With Kirkus’ diversity collections for young readers, the groupings go beyond race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or disability to consider the desired reading “experience.” This consideration of experience—categorized as learning, identification, or inclusion—is integral to the effectiveness of Kirkus Collections’ recommendations, as it addresses the demand for contextual information around diversity content.” “A book in Kirkus Collections that is designated Lived Experiences is the product of a creator with insider experience of the marginalized identities depicted, whether they have to do with race, ethnicity, religion, immigration status, sexuality, gender, disability, or more. – “
Although a few of the books in these collections may help a child who feels isolated, they are more likely to harm an unsuspecting child. When taken as a whole these books end up breaking down the moral fabric of our society.
The administrators at GHAPS have deferred all library decision making power to the “Professional Reviewers” at these national organizations. That’s why the library collections at GHAPS match those parents are complaining about across the country.
Some of the titles on the list are:
· The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta - available in the Grand Haven High School Library - "Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he's navigated what it means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican--but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough. As he gets older, Michael's coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs--and the Black Flamingo is born."
· Scars by Cheryl Rainfield – available in the Lakeshore Middle School and Grand Haven High School Libraries – “Fifteen-year-old Kendra, a budding artist who has not felt safe since she began to remember devastating memories of childhood sexual abuse, cannot seem to recall her abuser's identity and copes with the stress by cutting herself.”
· Gracefully Grayson by Amy Polonsky – available in the White Pines Middle School Library – “Grayson, a transgender twelve-year-old, learns to accept her true identity and share it with the world."
· Who I was With Her by Nita Tyndall – available in the Grand Haven High School Library - "When Corrine Parker's girlfriend dies in a car accident, Corrine struggles to come to terms with her grief and whether she is ready to come out as bisexual."
There are at least 85 books that contain rape and over 150 with scenes of drug abuse. Sex Instruction, teenage sexuality, and sexual abuse show up as topics in the GHAPS library subject categories. Christianity, Islam, family and fathers also show up as subjects. I encourage you to browse the books in the libraries searching the Destiny Catalog.
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You can read descriptions and search for subjects. It is quite the eye-opening experience. Here is a long list of potentially questionable books and a great place to start.
