Librarians in Keller ISD were shocked by the email that landed in their inbox a day before students returned to class.
It instructed them to quickly remove all 41 books that were challenged by parents or community members last school year – even though many of the titles already passed a previous formal review process.
Those books included The Bible, Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and a graphic novel adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary. Many of the titles also told the stories of LGBT and Black characters.
District spokesman Bryce Nieman said Keller school trustees recently adopted a new policy that requires every book that was previously challenged to be reconsidered. Among the trustees are new members who were elected as part of a broad conservative election push across Texas.
“Books that meet the new guidelines will be returned to the libraries as soon as it is confirmed they comply with the new policy,” associate superintendent John Allison wrote to librarians later in the day.
So why would these books be removed?
Several of them have generated controversy across the nation for their depictions of queer relationships and explorations of race.
Here is a breakdown of the common reasons why some want to remove these books.
Anne Frank’s Diary (The Graphic Adaptation): The person who challenged this book in Keller wrote to school officials that it should be viewed in the presence of an adult. This book presents a first-hand account of a Jewish family attempting to hide from the Nazis during the Holocaust. In other states, the unabridged version of her diary has been challenged because of sections where she writes about her own anatomy.
Gender Queer: This was the No. 1 most challenged book in 2021, according to the American Library Association. The graphic novel has been specifically called out by Gov. Greg Abbott because of its illustrations depicting sexual experiences. It depicts the author’s journey of sexuality and gender discovery.
The Bluest Eye: Toni Morrison’s debut novel was the eighth most challenged book of 2021. It depicts child sexual abuse and was considered by some to be sexually explicit.
The Bible: At least one person challenged The Bible in Keller, according to documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News related to the book review process. The person wrote that it contains “sexual content, violence including rape, murder, human sacrifice, misogyny, homophobia, discrimination, and other inappropriate content.”
Out of Darkness: This was the fourth most challenged book last year, according to the ALA. It chronicles a doomed love story between a Mexican-American girl and an African-American boy, leading up to the 1937 New London school explosion. The woman who challenged it in Keller wrote it was “so sexually explicit, violent, and obscene that it is traumatizing to students and should be removed for their safety and emotional welfare.”
All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Keller parent complained about its “Language, LGBTQ Content, Sexual Content.” It tells the author’s story of growing up as a queer Black man. The author George Johnson said during a recent panel that the book is “for people who are like me to feel seen and heard and for people who are unlike me to know that we actually exist in this world and that it was on them to change the circumstances of people who have been pushed to the margins historically in this country.”
I Am Jazz: This children’s book about a transgender girl’s journey is frequently targeted because some believe it confronts a topic that is “sensitive, controversial, and politically charged,” according to the ALA.
Free speech advocates have sounded the alarm over the removals. They say children need access to books with diverse characters and storylines so they can both see themselves reflected in literature as well as have their worldview widened by the experiences of others.
Authors have complained that enraged parents are reading snippets of their books out of context to make them appear as if they are pervasively obscene.
Here is every book that was challenged in Keller ISD:
Out of Darkness
The Bluest Eye
Afterward
Moxie
All Boys Aren’t Blue
We Are The Ants
Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)
This one Summer
Weird Girl and What’s His Name
Infinity Reaper, Infinity Cycle
More Happy Than Not
Flamer
George
I Am Jazz
A Court of Mist and Fury
Last Night at the Telegraph Club
Walter Mosley, 47
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
The Breakaways
Go With The Flow
L8r, g8r
Gender Queer
The Storm in the Barn
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
King and Dragonflies
What Girls Are Made Of
Girls Like Us
So You’re Being Publicly Shamed
Milk and Honey
Keeping You a Secret
If You Could Be Mine
Tricks
Anne Frank’s Diary (The Graphic Adaption)
The Bible (All Versions)
Empire of the Storms
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Red Hood
Feral Sins
Lucky
A Court of Frost and Starlight
A Court of Wings and RuinThe DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Todd A. Williams Family Foundation and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
