children's book banned

[quote - NYTimes.com]

With One Word, Children’s Book Sets Off Uproar
By JULIE BOSMAN
Published: February 18, 2007

The word “scrotum” does not often appear in polite conversation. Or children’s literature, for that matter.

Yet there it is on the first page of “The Higher Power of Lucky,” by Susan Patron, this year’s winner of the Newbery Medal, the most prestigious award in children’s literature. The book’s heroine, a scrappy 10-year-old orphan named Lucky Trimble, hears the word through a hole in a wall when another character says he saw a rattlesnake bite his dog, Roy, on the scrotum.

“Scrotum sounded to Lucky like something green that comes up when you have the flu and cough too much,” the book continues. “It sounded medical and secret, but also important.”

The inclusion of the word has shocked some school librarians, who have pledged to ban the book from elementary schools, and reopened the debate over what constitutes acceptable content in children’s books. The controversy was first reported by Publishers Weekly, a trade magazine.

[/quote]


first of all, it really upsets me, as a mom, when quality children's literature is banned by schools!

secondly, my son hears much worse on tv commercials that i have no parental control over.. enlarged prostate, erectile disfunction, condoms, and menstruation products to name a few. none of which seem any more controversial than the word "scrotum."

chances are by the end of the book, most kids are not even going to remember "scrotum" on the first page. instead, they will remember the book as a whole being a great story.

lastly, hearing mature words is a life lesson every kid will be able to relate to. it's just part of growing up.