The Luv Ya Bunches controversy

Some of you probably caught wind of the controversy around a book called Luv Ya Bunches by Lauren Myracle. She was asked to change parts of it so that it could be carried in the Scholastic Book Fair--and one of those changes was to alter the sex of a character in a same-sex couple.

Here's a summary of what went on from Six Boxes of Books.

Scholastic censors Luv Ya Bunches

The headlines last week read:
Luv Ya Bunches Will Be in Middle School Book Fairs
Scholastic reverses decision regarding 'Luv Ya Bunches'
Scholastic to Sell 'Luv Ya Bunches' at Middle School Book Fairs
Scholastic Reverses Decision to Exclude Gay Friendly Book from Fairs

An accurate headline, though, would read: Scholastic Sells Censored Luv Ya Bunches in Middle School Fairs; Refuses to Include Gay Parents in Elementary Schools.

Luv Ya Bunches is about fifth graders. Publishers Weekly recommended it for ages 9-13. Clearly it is intended for both elementary and middle school students.

Let's talk a little about book fairs. Scholastic dominates the U.S. school book fair market. From 2003-2007 I hosted a Scholastic book fair at my middle school (continuing the previous librarian's tradition). On the appointed date the deliverymen wheel in giant carts that open to become book displays. The middle school fairs offer certain titles, which have been advertised in advance to students via posters and book fair brochures. The books, published by Scholastic and other publishers, range from paperback classics to brand-new releases. Schools can make special requests; I always asked for more multi-ethnic books to reflect the interests and diversity of my students. The person in charge of the book fair can choose to remove items from the display if they don't want to sell them. Most librarians I know do: expensive software, toys with small parts, books you don't think students are interested in might stay packed in boxes. At my last Scholastic fair I didn't display the posters for sale, because space was tight and I wanted to focus on books.

My point is that with any book fair, including Scholastic, you can choose what to offer from the books provided. No school is forced to offer a book for sale.

If you (librarians or book fair chairs) live in a community that is so homophobic that parents will protest a book with gay characters, and you are not willing to take a stand and offer the book, you don't have to. But Scholastic Inc., whose credo says they strive "To enlarge students' concern for and understanding of today's world," should not pander to this homophobic constituency by refusing to offer Luv Ya Bunches or other books with gay characters in its elementary school book fairs.

Michael A. Jones of Change.org writes, "This was a victory for us all." I see no victory. Scholastic Book Fairs concluded their review process and decided to include an expurgated edition of Luv Ya Bunches in its middle school book fairs. This may be what they were already going to do before last week's outcry. It represents no brave stance on the part of Scholastic, despite what Lauren Myracle claims. Here's what needs to happen to achieve a real victory.

Read the rest.

Gender bias: interesting to ponder

Plenty of people have noticed how, when it comes to awards, a disproportionate number of them seem to go to men. The same can be true for annual "best of" lists.

Here's a blog entry that shows how some orchestras--once wildly dominated by men --have changed their proverbial tune by having blind auditions in carpeted rooms behind screens, so that the sound of the music is the only thing that being considered.

It would be really hard to judge a book without its cover. But it's interesting to think about. Here's the blog post.

Good news for Kirby Larson

In honor of the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Best Friends Animal Society featured the Two Bobbies in their very cool e-zine, Top Story!

And don't forget to stop by Kirby's blog for the latest installment in her boy books vs. girl books discussion.

Girl books vs. boy books

Kirby's blog today looks at what makes a "girl" book and what makes a "boy" book. Very interesting. Do check it out.

Kirby Larson's gender discussion

It's now live on her blog! Check it out--and remember, the first commenter gets a signed copy of HATTIE BIG SKY.

Girls vs. boys: the throwdown

Kirby Larson has organized the Ultimate Throwdown on Gender in Books.

Following the SLJ article that suggested making characters boys when it makes no big difference to the story, and a rebuttal on MSN Entertainment written by a certain opinionated person whose name rhymes with Schmartha, Kirby's adding even more voices to the debate.

Starting around noon today, you can read a lively series of posts exploring the question of gender and reading/writing featuring the likes of librarians Jerene Battisti and Nancy Pearl and writers Erin Blakemore, Dave Patneaude, Rodman Philbrick, Jon Sciezska, Joni Sensel, Terry Trueman and Ben Watson, plus avid reader, Tyler Larson (NYU Film School grad, Associate Producer at HBO, and son of a certain blogger).

What a great lineup! She's also giving away an autographed copy of HATTIE BIG SKY to the first commenter each day. So you can't miss this. I'm bringing popcorn. And maybe a Hefty bag to protect my clothing from tomatoes. I hear that Ben Watson kid can throw.

Click here to go there.

On judging a book by its cover

You might have heard the brouhaha about Justina Larbalestier's book, LIAR. Many people say the cover--of a light-skinned girl hiding behind her hair--doesn't match the protagonist, who is black.

Here's Justina's take on it, on how much say the author really has on a cover, on working with Bloomsbury, and the disturbing notion that covers with black people don't sell.

Meanwhile, here's my take on an argument a librarian made in School Library Journal that publishers should make more books with boy protagonists because boys don't want to read about girls.