Literacy Leadership

A great librarian in the state of California lost his job recently due to what some may view as insubordination. Others consider his loyalty to literacy and his stand against censorship a sign of his commitment to young readers as he continues to encourage them to explore the world through literature.

Censorship (of all kinds) has been an issue for decades, Banned Books Week takes place every September - which just goes to show that this battle is far from over.

We at Kane/Miller have experienced many complaints over the years for our books that (god, forbid) teach young children to be OK with their bodies (Breasts, Everyone Poops) or illustrating the process of birth (Contemplating Your Bellybutton). While we respect each person's opinion we also hold a great deal of respect for all of those who fight for intellectual freedom.

From Japan

Breasts
by Genichiro Yagyu


Contemplating Your Bellybutton
Written by Jun Nanao
Illustrated by Tomoko Hasegawa


Everyone Poops
by Taro Gomi

Thank you librarians and booksellers for all you do to keep (all) the books on the shelves, and for providing readers with the freedom to decide for themselves.

From Greece

Unique Monique
Written by Maria Rousaki
Illustrated by Polina Papanikolaou

From Germany

Something is Not Quite Right!
by Ralf Butschkow

There are plenty more stories of shocked and horrified readers who took the time to send us their personal complaints (and philosophies) about such books as Unique Monique and Something is Not Quite Right!, to name just a few. In fact, just a few weeks ago we had a lively discussion about creating a new campaign with stickers for our retailer customers to include on their signage: Educational Porn Sold Here!

One has to have a sense of humor about these sort of things.