America Hates Gay Penguins

For the third year in a row, the book most complained about in public school libraries is And Tango Makes Three, which tells the story of two male penguins raising an orphaned chick. The American Library Association tracks the titles most demanded for removal by parents and educators, although they estimate that four or five times more books are removed than are reported.

"Tango" was cited for being anti-family, pro-gay and anti-religion. Also high on the list were Philip Pullman's "Dark Materials" trilogy (complaints for being violent and anti-religious), Cecily von Ziegesar's "Gossip Girls" series (language, sexually explicit), Alvin Schwartz's "Scary Stories" (violence, occultism) and Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (drugs, suicide, nudity, language). ALA spokeswoman Macey Morales said that books were actually pulled at least 74 times last year. Those removed included Sherman Alexie's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" (refers to masturbation), Jodi Picoult's "My Sister's Keeper" (sexually explicit) and Mark Bowden's "Black Hawk Down" (profanity).

(Tipped by JMG reader Joe)