Book banning may have reached its most ridiculous state with this news. A children’s picture book was allegedly flagged for the potential to be “sexually explicit” at an Alabama library because the author’s last name is “Gay.”
Huntsville-Madison County Public Library (HCPL) system flagged the book “Read Me a Story, Stella,” which is a children’s picture book about a pair of siblings reading books together and building a doghouse, by Marie-Louise Gay to a list of potentially “sexually explicit” books to be removed from the children’s section.
According to Karen Li, publisher at Groundwood Books, which publishes Gay’s stories, Gay’s book has never been “mistakenly censored” before. “Although it is obviously laughable that our picture book shows up on their list of censored books simply because the author’s last name is Gay, the ridiculousness of that fact should not detract from the seriousness of the situation,” Li said in a statement.
Li also mentioned other books on the list, including Angie Thomas’ “The Hate U Give,” which has no LGBTQ themes or sexual content but does include the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager at the hands of police.
“This proves, as always, that censorship is never about limiting access to this book or that one. It is about sending the message to children that certain ideas — or even certain people — are not worthy of discussion or acknowledgement or consideration,” Li said. “This is a hateful message in a place like a public library, where all children are meant to feel safe, and where their curiosity about the world is meant to be nurtured.”
Cindy Hewitt, HCPL executive director, said that “Read Me a Story, Stella” should not have been added to the list and was only included because of the keyword “gay,” which was flagged by their system. “Obviously, we’re not going to touch that book for any reason,” Hewitt said.
“Read Me a Story, Stella” was just one of 233 titles that were meant to be reviewed and potentially moved from the public library’s system. However, after criticism both internally and from the general public, about the list specifically targeting the LGBTQ community, the process was halted. Librarians have chosen to move some of the books to the adult section.
“We wanted to be proactive and allow our library staff to look at our collection and make decisions about moving material to an older age group and not have someone from outside dictating that for us,” Hewitt said.
Hewitt said the review was based on a list of 101 books compiled by Clean Up Alabama, a group that has been targeting “sexually explicit” books in libraries around the state across 2023. Of course, “Read Me A Story, Stella” was not on their list.