School Removes Squirting Sperm Book After 8-Year-Old Complains To Her Mother

Lovingly Alice book in the news.

Public school officials have removed a book containing inappropriate material from the Quail Run Elementary School in Phoenix, AZ, at least until the next school year.  The book, Lovingly Alice, from the Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, includes material such as a "penis squirting sperm inside the vagina."  The 8-year-old girl complained about the book to her mother who then brought the book to the school's attention.

The principal was "shocked."  According to the mother, he said he "didn't even know this was in our library."  "Even the school librarian admitted it wasn't appropriate for younger kids and put a restriction on it for sixth graders only," said a reporter.

See for yourself:

• "8-Year-Old Finds Sexually Graphic Book In School Library," KPHO 5, 13 May 2011.  See the KPHO 5 news video.
• "School Pulls Book from Library After Complaint," by Bob McClay, News-Talk 92.3 KTAR, 13 May 2011.
• "Book Pulled from Shelves at PHX School Following Mom's Push for Ban," by Kimberly Cheng, KNXV-TV ABC15, 12 May 2011.  See the ABC15 news video.

I spoke with the outspoken mother, Hilary Lockhart.  Here is some information that may help her and any other parent/guardian having similar concerns:

• "Anti-American Indoctrination in Public Schools"
• "School Bullies Girl to Promote Political Push for Perks By Displaying In Class Video of Girl's Parents; School Board Misleads Parents Opposing School Book So Only Book Supporters Attend Public Meeting; Media Touts Total Victory And Leaves Out Bullying and Political Trickery; Guest Writer Aldo DeVivo Speaks Out"
• "Most Oppose Explicit Books in Public Schools Says Harris Poll"
• "School Excoriates Book Reviews that Fail to Disclose 'Graphic Sexual Details' in Books for Children; Lush by Natasha Friend is 'Wildly Inappropriate' for Certain Children"
• "TheBookBuzz.org Provides Parent Ratings of Public School Books"
• "Court Backs Local School Control in Evans-Marshall v Board of Education; ALA Loses Another Means to Propagandize Local Communities"
• "The Parent Trap: ALA Uses Banned Books Week to Ridicule Patrons Complying with ALA Materials Reconsideration Policies"
• "School Media Specialist Passes Sexual Content Review to Students; Dee Venuto Says It Is Discrimination to Keep Children From Material Including Lengthy, Vivid Descriptions of a Ménage a Trois"

Alice book removed from school library labeled "Children."

• "The Anything Goes ALA is Out of the Mainstream by Defending the Right of Children to Access Pornography in Public Libraries"
• "School Librarian Curses at Children to Teach 'Banned' Books; School Board Apologizes to Furious Parents But Not for Indoctrination; Direct Link from School to ALA is Established"
• "Kentucky School Superintendent Exposes False Cries of Censorship; Removes Educationally Unsuitable Books from Curriculum Despite Being on ALA's List for Reluctant Readers" - this one contains many comments by authors and a school superintendent
• "It's Not Censorship, It's Parenting!  -- Best Explanation Ever for What's Wrong With the American Library Association and its Effect on Public School Libraries"
• "Molestation in Elementary School Library by Third Grader on Classmate; Librarian Mishandles 8 Year Old Victim's Plea for Help; School Refuses Comment"
• "Slippery Slopes Okay for Gays, But Not Kids, Not National Security, According to the American Library Association"
• "Teacher Bullies Student Publicly to Send Message that No One Should Challenge Inappropriate Material; Legal Assistance Needed"
• "Scholastic Tells ALA to Take a Hike; Drops Bratz Books from Catalog on Eve of ALA's Phoney 'Banned Books Week'"
• "Warning to All Parents to Know What Your Child is Reading"
• "Crying Censorship and the ALA; Don't Let the ALA Redefine Censorship"
• "Student Decries School P-rn Pushing Policy and Calls for Book Ratings"

NOTE ADDED 20 MAY 2011:

A former head of the Arizona Library Association wants the squirting sperm book returned to the shelves:

Ann Dutton Ewbank wants
children to retain access
to squirting sperm book.

Regarding the article "Mother's complaint prompts Paradise Valley school officials to remove book" that appeared on azcentral.com on Tuesday:  Paradise Valley administrators removed the book "Lovingly Alice" from the Quail Run Elementary School library prior to the initiation of an official book challenge.  The district policy governing this process, "Parent Complaint Procedures Regarding Instructional Materials" states, "During the review, materials in question may remain in use."  As a parent, Hilary Lockhart has the right and responsibility to direct her children's reading, but the decision to remove the book prior to the outcome of the book-challenge procedure restricts access to all students.  District administrators should return the book to the shelves until the challenge process is complete and a final decision has been made by a committee of teachers, parents and librarians, as stated in district policy. - Ann Dutton Ewbank, Phoenix
The writer is a past president of the Arizona Library Association.

"PV Schools Skipped Book Procedure," by Ann Dutton Ewbank, The Arizona Republic, 19 May 2011.

Notice "may remain in use" completely negates her argument since the book need not remain in use.  That leaves her simply throwing around her Arizona Library Association weight to attempt to browbeat the school back into line.  It's demagoguery pure and simple.

So skipping the material reconsideration procedure is bad if it keeps kids from reading inappropriate material, but, in Clarkstown, NY, skipping the material reconsideration is good if it keeps kids reading inappropriate material.  And there we have yet another double standard.  The ends justifies the means.


NOTE ADDED 4 FEBRUARY 2019:

Ann Dutton Ewbank, the librarian who wanted the squirting sperm book returned to the shelves, has now written a book:

• "Political Advocacy for School Librarians; Leveraging Your Influence," by Ann Dutton Ewbank, foreword by Kathi Kromer,  Libraries Unlimited, January 2019.

It cost $40!

Get this, and I quote, "Ann Dutton Ewbank is associate professor at Montana State University, Bozeman. She researches school library advocacy and is a member-leader in the American Library Association. A tireless advocate, Ewbank has direct experience working with elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels to enact positive policy for school library programs."  Returning the squirting sperm book to school shelves despite the principal and the school's own librarian removing it must be the positive policy for school libraries about which she's writing.

Also, I have updated most dead links with archived or new links, and I removed a dead video.