Were you a fan of Captian Underpants as a kid? Did you get author Dav Pilkey's sense of (scat) humor? I was never introduced to Captain Underpants, maybe I was too busy thinking about underpants in a different way. Pilkey's hero hsa come under new controversy because some of the friends he has chosen to hang out with.
A Michigan elementary school has banned the latest "Captain Underpants" novel from its book fair because one of the main characters is gay, according to a report by WXYZ in Detroit.
Arborwood Elementary School in Monroe, Mich., won't be stocking Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot" at its fair, the TV station said.
The new "Captain Underpants" book continues the adventures of Harold and George, two fourth-grade students in Ohio, and the titular superhero they created. At the end of the book, it's revealed that Harold grows up to be an artist with a domestic partner named Billy. – latimes.com
Here is the local coverage from WXYZ.com
The decision to ban the book, which the School Library Journal considers the book suitable for children in grades 2-4, was made by the school's parent-teacher organization, according to Monroe Public Schools Superintendent Barry Martin.
"Most of the kids come in and they buy books and the parents aren’t part of the selection," he said. "In this case, we felt it was necessary that if this book was going to be purchased, the parent needed to be involved in that."
WDIV-TV/ClickonDetroit.com reported that most parents of Arborwood students support the ban. One parent, Sherika Watkins, said: "I think at this kind of age a parent should be involved with them because they're so young that they maybe need to be explained what this is about."
Kimberly Rose, another parent, disagreed. "If you're in this world, they should know about that regardless," she said.
WDIV reported that only two students have requested the book so far at from Arborwood , where the school's motto, according to its website, is "Preparing Students for a Changing World."
The 12 "Captain Underpants" books have been challenged or banned frequently in American schools and libraries, mostly for their scatological humor. According to the American Library Assn., the books were the most frequently challenged ones in the nation in 2012 and 2013.
Pilkey responded to earlier attempts to ban his books in a 2014 essay for the Huffington Post. "There are some adults out there who are not amused by the things that make most children laugh, and so they try to stomp these things out," he wrote. "As grown-ups, we need to respect our children's rights to choose what they want to read." – latimes.com
Is this okay censorship? Is there such a thing as okay censorship? The school administration is just looking for parents to be in on the decision in regard to this reading / educational experience.
What I would ask is what other topics the school administration feels are crucial to make parents aware of. Divorce? Death? Racism?
What are your thoughts?
As a retired teacher, I appreciate any book that gets kids to read. My students loved the Captain Underpants books! I even adapted two of them into a play that I used in my classroom. The kids loved it, of course. Banning this is an insult to Dav Pilkey!
People like this who ban book
People like this who ban book just cause of there is "hint" of a "gay" character are idiots and should not be allowed to reproduce. I am the parent of a 1st grader a kindergartner and a 2 yr old and I find absolutely nothing wrong with letting them know even (especially) at the 2nd to 4th grade level about this subject and many others some find inappropriate for kids. The more we ban books or movies or just about anything with gay characters or many other "touchie" subjects the sooner we expose our kids to the narrow minded bigotry and racism that so many people have fought so hard to eliminate.
Furthermore I don’t get why
Furthermore I don't get why it is ok to teach kids that its ok to discriminate based on race sexual preference or religion but its not ok to teach them that other types of lifestyles exist. Kids learn more from our actions as parents and what WE say or do more than what they read or see on TV, we as parents are their biggest influence. The age bracket in question here is one of their most influential times, what would the parents who supported the ban of this and many other books say when their child asks : "Mommy/Daddy" what does ban mean and why is this book banned? They going to tell them the truth its banned because a character is gay? Child then asks what does gay mean? they gonna tell them the truth? gay is when two guys or two girls like each other and that is wrong ? Probably not they will just lie or to those that would tell the truth would just be teaching their child that its wrong to be gay or other religions are wrong or its ok to be racist and THAT is what is WRONG not the lifestyles that YOU think is wrong .