District Won’t Ban ‘Suggestive’ Book
Spokane School District 81 will keep a novel about a boy who can’t read on middle-school reading lists despite a parent’s complaint that it contains vulgar language and “could encourage immoral behavior.”
“Willy’s Summer Dream” by Kay Brown is one of 25 to 30 titles middle-school students may choose during a language arts unit on decision-making.
Its protagonist, 14-year-old Willy, thinks he’s dumb, but he gains self-confidence when an older girl tutors him in reading and writing. Willy then helps a younger boy learn to swim and must decide what to do when he realizes the boy has been physically abused.
Parent Debra Meador objected to several instances of profanity and to a scene in which Willy sees his tutor sleeping and experiences sexual arousal for the first time. The boy’s feelings frighten him and he leaves.
“The mental image described on pages 62 and 63 are very suggestive and could encourage immoral behavior, not to mention a physical reaction to one who is reading the material,” the Salk Middle School parent wrote in the complaint.
Meador asked the district to remove the book from libraries and classroom reading lists.
A committee reviewed the complaint and decided the vulgar language was not pervasive and that the sexual arousal scene was not explicit or inappropriate.
“I believe we need to be certain that we do not eliminate an important overall message to students because we have chosen to isolate specific words or phrases and impugn an entire work on that basis,” Associate Superintendent Cynthia Lambarth wrote in response to the complaint.
The decision disappointed Meador, who said she’s proud of her son for bringing the book to her. She had not read the entire book and acknowledged it might have some value.
“But it’s like a garbage can filled with trash, and in the very bottom of the can there’s a wonderful, fresh sandwich. You have to dig through the trash to get to the good stuff,” she said.
Unlike other books challenged by parents this school year, the 1989 novel is not considered great literature.
One reviewer said the book lacked focus and contained “syntactical errors, inappropriate use of adjectives, and florid phraseology.”
“It’s not a well-written book from a literary standpoint,” conceded language arts coordinator Fran Mester.
But some middle-school novels are selected to “get kids reading,” Mester said. A book about a slow learner may capture some students’ interest.
This is the district’s sixth book challenge this school year. In four cases, the district decided to keep the books without restrictions.
The district decided a children’s poetry book called “Halloween ABC” should be restricted to older elementary school readers when a parent complained it was satanic.
When the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” was challenged for its portrayal of blacks, the district decided to keep the book and write guidelines for teaching it.
Those guidelines, now complete, give teachers historical background, ideas for setting the right tone in the classroom, and alternative titles for students who object to the Harper Lee novel.