You Don’t Want a Book Challenge, Do You?

Abstract

This article includes a compilation of three personal stories from the author’s time as an elementary librarian at a K-12 private school in Atlanta, Georgia. While struggling with classroom management during her first year as a school librarian, she was surprised by anatomical language in a read-aloud that she had forgotten about after pre-reading the book. She had a split second to decide whether to read what was actually written. During her second year, she went through my library’s reconsideration process when a parent challenged a book of scary stories. The worst part? She had used that book in a lesson with the entire third grade. And finally, throughout her time with this school, she fought for a book that was not being officially challenged, but voluntarily censored by her colleague. The author shares these stories with honesty about how sh handled each situation, and with a little advice added.