Random House speaks out on the "Scrotum-gate" controversy

Viz. the putative "banning" of this year's Newbery Award-winner for the use of the word "scrotum" in describing a dog's... scrotum. Random House is not the book's publisher, but I believe they may be doing the audiobook.

The excerpt:


In an op-ed letter to the Times, children’s book author Alex Flinn vehemently asserts: “If a particular word finds its way into a book, it is because, after much consideration, we have decided that the word is absolutely necessary to the story. Most children’s authors feel a strong sense of responsibility to their readers, their characters and their stories. We do not sneak.”

While many librarians have come out in support of The Higher Power of Lucky, others have declared their intention not to include it in their library collections, thereby making the title unavailable to their community of readers; in other words, they haven chosen to ban the book from their libraries.

In another op-ed letter to the Times, an elementary school librarian from Louisville, Kentucky, states: “Given the conservative nature of the families of my patrons, why would I seek to offend them by offering their children books that are not age-appropriate?” That same librarian also informs us that she has not stocked the past three Newbery Medal winners “because they are not appropriate for the patrons of my library.”

What this brings up is the more subtle but insidiously dangerous issue of self-censorship. Indeed, why would any public librarian jeopardize their job or funding for their library, which largely depend on the support and largesse of the community, by courting such controversy? Similarly, why would a bookseller risk offending customers by recommending a potentially controversial title? Taking this viewpoint to its natural conclusion, why then would a publisher take any chances by signing such a book? Why would a writer choose to produce anything that someone might find objectionable? Why write anything original? Why risk it? They have no incentive to do so and every reason to play it safe. However, the inevitable result would be a literature—and a culture—of blandness and mediocrity.

The American Library Association has issued a statement in support of Susan Patron and The Higher Power of Lucky: “The author’s use of one word should not prevent children from having free access to this remarkable piece of children’s literature. Children and their families should be given the opportunity to read this book and develop their opinions.”

“It is wrong to judge a book by its cover—or by a single word that most people don’t even consider offensive,” Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), said. “The Higher Power of Lucky should be judged as a whole, which is exactly what the American Library Association did when it gave the book its top award.”

Likewise, this year’s Newbery Honor authors, Jennifer L. Holm, Kirby Larson, and Cynthia Lord, have also offered a written statement of their support. You can read their statement in full on RHCB’s First Amendment First-Aid Kit Web site at http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/firstamendment/alert.html.

Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read. We encourage you to forward this message, along with the attached “Censorship Q & A” sheet, to as many people as possible.

The First Amendment Committee would also like to hear your thoughts. If you would like to make a comment on this issue, or if you have a story about censorship concerning a specific title or author to relate, please write to us at firstamendment@randomhouse.com. Thank you for your awareness and support.

Sincerely,

The Random House First Amendment Committee

WTF is the MATTER with people? The word is in the dictionary, somewhere between idiots and stupid...

:shrug:

although since it's a dog, what about bag of bones or perhaps just doggybag?

where the Newberry Award winners used to be. I'm sure there are more tomes coming in the "Left Behind" series for these libraries.

:crazy:

(In England, "knickers" is a slang term for women's underwear.)

A young man has recently been ordained a priest in the Church of England. Until he gets assigned to a permanent parish, he is visiting villages and small towns as a guest preacher, getting experience as a speaker.

After service in a small village, an elderly woman walks up to him with a frown on her face.

"Father, I was deeply offended by your choice of words in your sermon. You used the word 'knickers,' which was not appropriate when preaching the Word of God."

"I am sorry to hear that," the priest replied. "But tell me, what was I talking about before you heard that word?"

"Well," the woman conceded. "To be honest, I wasn't listening very closely."

"Do you remember what I was talking about after that word?"

"Oh, no. I was too deep in shock to hear the rest."

The priest smiled and warmly shook the woman's hand.

"If I had not used that word, then you would have nothing to remember my sermon by. God be with you."

Balzac.

Some of the kids reading this book even HAVE scrotum!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

.

n/t

sorry . . . just couldn't resist . . .:rofl:

Okay, maybe a teacher would not choose to read this particular book aloud to her entire class, for fear of causing a disruption, and possibly losing control of the class for a while. I can understand that. Other than that, what is the fuss? They'd prefer the kids keep on saying "balls" and "nutsack", and not learn the proper anatomical terms?:eyes: