Warning: This post contains sexually explicit content that is not appropriate for children.
Just like Grand Haven Area Public Schools, Spring Lake Public Schools has a problem with sexually explicit books in the school libraries. The highly controversial book Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe is available to students in the Spring Lake High School library. The book contains graphic depictions of sexual acts. It is shocking and it is pornographic. It has made national news as parents around the country have fought to have it removed from schools. This article from the Central Florida Post contains a video of concerned parents discussing this book.
Unfortunately, removing this one book does not eliminate the problem. The fact that the school has this book is solely an indicator of a much bigger problem. There are many books that contain sexually explicit material in written and picture form available to children in the school libraries.
The Spring Lake High School library also has the book Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle. Here’s an excerpt from this book.
p. 240
Charlie fanned his hands over the back of her panties. “God, I love your ass,” he murmured.
She was both thrilled and mortified. She was on her knees, and he was behind her, and when she shifted to move back beside him, he didn’t let her. Instead, he ran his hands over and under her panties.
“Oh,” Wren said. “Um…”
Charlie pulled her back to him, and she turned toward him. They were both on their knees, and he put one hand at the base of her neck and kissed her while his other hand skimmed the side of her body and the curve of her hip.
“I think your shirt needs to come off, too,” she whispered. Her face flamed, because he’d had his shirt off before, but she’d never been the one to say “take it off.”
He leaned back, and she helped pull his shirt over his head. She touched his ribs. His abs. She placed both hands on his chest. He was so gorgeous. So warm and hard and real.
He trailed his fingers down the strap of her new French bra. He reached the lace and lightly skimmed it. With both hands, he scooped up her breasts, running his thumbs over the swell of them and making her nipples even harder. They poked visibly through the sheer fabric- Wren glanced down and saw- and Charlie said, “Leaves?”
Wren’s mind was foggy. Then she said, “Leaves. Yes. On my bra. Do you like?”
He dipped his fingers under the lace, sliding the fabric of the bra off her breast and anchoring it beneath, so that it pushed her flesh higher. He did the same to the other breast. “I like this better,” he murmured, bowing his head and sucking first one nipple and then the other.
Wren couldn’t think. It was all sense and touch and heat and shivers. Oh my God, she thought, and she moved beneath his touch, following his hands with her body.
He fiddled with her bra. It took him a moment to work the clasp, and she smiled as she kissed him.
She was wet.
She was scared, but she wanted him inside her.
---
It escalates from there and I will let you use your imagination to finish the scene, but know that there are still six pages left in the chapter.
Parents can search the Spring Lake Public School library on-line for books using the Destiny system.
Type in your title, author, subject or keyword, then change the school to Spring Lake Public Schools and hit search. I recommend searching for subjects to get some idea of titles available. Then start searching for specific books. A Texas Representative, Matt Krause, created a list of 850 books that make children feel uncomfortable. Grand Haven school libraries have about 300 books on this list. It’s a great place to start cross referencing books available to children in Spring Lake schools.
We as parents, citizens and school administrators can do better by our children. School libraries that contain sexually explicit books must do a complete review of all books in their libraries. Books that contain sexually explicit material and would be rated R or X if in movie format are not age appropriate for children. Other controversial books should be labeled with the controversial topic, and rated in a similar manner to movies. Finally, parental permission must be given before children have access to these books and materials.