ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rod Philbrick is a successful novelist of juvenile fiction and mysteries. Born in Portsmouth, NH, he summers in Kittery and winters in Key West. His best known novel, Freak the Mighty, has sold over two million copies and was made into a film starring Sharon Stone, Genna Rowland, Harry Dean Stanton and other top stars. His works like The Fire Pony, The Young Man and the Sea, REM World and Last Book in the Universe are frequently listed among the most popular in middle school classrooms across the nation. This piece originally appear in Rod Philbricks’ blog on Amazon.com.

Santa Rosa School Bans Anti-Gang Book

Those of you who think book banning is a thing of the past haven't been in a middle school library lately. In some schools certain administrators (think of them as former hall monitors) serve as gatekeepers, protecting innocent minds from too much stimulation. Sometimes this makes perfect sense - fifth graders will have to peruse 'Tropic of Cancer' on their parent's bookshelves, not in the school library. And school computers should be blocked, obviously, from the sickness of Internet adult sites. But in the realm of actual books -- real stories about real life, including the good, the bad, and the ugly-- nothing in any library collection is likely to damage young brains. Hey, these are kids who think it's very funny every time Kenny gets killed on 'South Park'. And they're right!

Which brings us to a recent incident in Santa Rosa, California. Richie Partington, a nationally known librarian, educator, and advocate of children's literature, was hired as a Library Consultant by the school district. In that capacity he was "book talking" one of my novels with 6th graders. The idea is to get the kids interested enough in the story so they might actually read it themselves.

Richie had selected my book "The Last Book In The Universe" for his talk, and reports that the students were enthusiastic. Having heard the first chapter, they wanted to see what happened next. Great, mission accomplished. But when Mr. Partington showed up at the library with four copies for the kids to check out, he was informed that the school didn't allow books about gangs, or books that mentioned gangs, or, apparently, books that contain the word 'gangs'. That's the policy, no exception.

Let me explain. 'The Last Book In The Universe' is a distopian novel, set in a future where various gangs control the ruins of what was once a vast city. The protagonist is an orphan boy struggling to survive in a chaotic society. He teams up with an old man -- an author writing the last book in a world where no one reads anymore -- on an exciting adventure/journey to save the boy's dying sister. The story is profoundly anti-gang and anti-drug. Despite being science fiction, it's an old-fashioned tale about overcoming adversity and knowing the difference between right and wrong. It has been read by thousands of fifth and sixth graders and was named one of the "100 Best Books of The 21st Century" by the American Library Association.

If the school administrators had read 'The Last Book In The Universe' - something they did not bother doing -- they might have realized they had it all wrong, and that it was exactly the kind of book that might appeal to urban 6th graders, many of whom come from troubled backgrounds. When Richie Partington insisted that the administrators actually read the novel before excluding it from the collection, he was fired. His consultant contract was terminated. Canceled, kicked to the curb, out of a job, no paycheck.

Nice. And a splendid example for the kids who, for one short moment, expressed enthusiasm for the idea of reading a book on their own.

You can check out Mr. Partington's notions of what makes an appropriate novel for middle-schoolers at richiespicks.com.

By Rodman Philbrick

OUTSIDE LINKS:
    Rodman Philbrick official web site   
    Richie Partington book web site   
    Rod Philbrick’s Amazon.com blog