[Publib] One more thing about the "S" word

Thu Mar 1 17:28:11 EST 2007

I don't know what percentage of children would have read The Higher
Power of Lucky and would have learned the "S" word for the first time,
but I can guarantee you that at least 30 to 50% more children will know
it now, after all this proposed censorship. When will parents learn that
if you really don't want your kids to know about something, you don't
talk about it in public?  Same thing went for President Clinton.  If you
really don't want your children to learn about oral sex, you don't
publicly chastise him for this behavior in the newspapers and on TV.
They obviously were more interested in shaming and punishing him than in
protecting their children.  When I grew up, all I ever heard was "Little
pitchers have big ears" - and I never learned a thing - darnit!  It took
me years just to figure out the saying. 

Adelaide Rowe

Head of Youth Services

Elk Grove Village Public Library

1001 Wellington

Elk Grove Village, IL 60007

847-439-0447 ext. 252 or 267

arowe at egvpl.org

-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Hatfield, Jean
Sent: Friday, February 23, 2007 4:03 PM
To: Amanda Henning; Tom Kemp; Eric
Cc: publib at webjunction.org; Connie Jo Ozinga
Subject: RE: [Publib] That book they are talking about

Hello -

I HAVE read the book.  In fact, I was on the Newbery committee that
selected it.  The use of the term IS integral to the character
development.  Lucky is a typical 10-year-old, trying to make sense of
the world and her place in it.  When she hears the story of the snake
biting the dog on the scrotum, she wonders what a scrotum is.  She
wonders about a lot of other things as well.  In fact, she doesn't spend
much time thinking about the dog story, because she is more interested
in what it means to Hit Rock Bottom and to find a Higher Power (she was
eavesdropping on a 12-step program when she heard the story about the
dog.)  She wants to find a Higher Power to help her figure out her life.
Her mother died a few years earlier, her father doesn't want her and he
puts her in the care of Brigitte, his first wife who happens to be from
France.  Lucky is afraid that Brigitte will leave her life as well.  

Lucky is not perfect.  She is a human being who loses her temper
sometimes, feels happy sometimes, makes mistakes, wants love.  The book
follows her for a short while as she does all of these things.

The scrotum issue raises it's head again, so to speak, on the last page.
This provides a nice parallel to the beginning of the story.  Lucky
finally asks Brigitte what  scrotum mean and she gets a very
matter-of-fact answer that is given in a loving, caring way.  

I think that anyone who is objecting to this book and the use of the
word has not taken the time to read it.  They are passing judgment on it
based on a wild imagination that the characters are focusing on male
body parts.  Lucky is much more interested in capturing bugs than she is
in looking at male body parts (on men or dogs).  I think a lot of people
are going to be very embarrassed about their over reaction when they
finally get their hands on the book and read it.

Jean Hatfield

Wichita Public Library

	-----Original Message-----
	From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org]On Behalf Of Amanda Henning
	Sent: Friday, February 23, 2007 2:51 PM
	To: 'Tom Kemp'; 'Eric'
	Cc: 'Connie Jo Ozinga'; publib at webjunction.org
	Subject: RE: [Publib] That book they are talking about

	I haven't read this book yet, but can anybody who has tell me if
the use of the term was integral at all to the story or character
development?  If the dog could have been bitten in the leg instead, that
may have been a better choice considering the uproar.

Just my two cents,

Amanda

	Amanda Henning

	Youth Services Assistant

	The Marysville Public Library

	231 S. Plum St.

	Marysville, Oh  43040

	(937) 642-1876 ex. 28

	ahenning at marysvillelib.org

	"In early days, I tried not to give librarians any trouble,
which was where I made my primary mistake. Librarians like to be given
trouble; they exist for it, they are geared to it. For the location of a
mislaid volume, an uncatalogued item, your good librarian has a ferret's
nose. Give her a scent and she jumps the leash, her eye bright with
battle."

	                                          - Catherine Drinker
Bowen

________________________________

	From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Tom Kemp
	Sent: Friday, February 23, 2007 3:43 PM
	To: Eric
	Cc: publib at webjunction.org; Connie Jo Ozinga
	Subject: Re: [Publib] That book they are talking about

	Perhaps we should just describe the language as: tasteless. 

	Why in the world would the author or anyone else think that this
is an appropriate story for anyone of any age? Like so much of day-time
TV ... it's low brow. But, our airwaves, media of all types are filled
with low brow content. Look at what passes for news these days. 

	There are more than 60,000 books published annually. 

	Why was this title given a prestigious national award?

	What are we doing?

	Of the thousands of books published ... this was the best? the
award winner?

	Bury this "dog" book in the backyard like a bone? No. 

	Honor it? I wouldn't do that either. 

	And we wonder why the public relies on and uses libraries less
and less each year. 

	Tom 

	On 2/23/07, Eric <eric.brasure at gmail.com> wrote: 

	I am a current MLS student and I happen to be taking a children
and YA
	class this semester. I can tell you that there was no one in my
class 
	that came down on the side of thinking "scrotum" to be a dirty
word
	and no one entertained the notion of censoring the book.

	On 2/23/07, Connie Jo Ozinga < cjo at elkhart.lib.in.us
<mailto:cjo at elkhart.lib.in.us> > wrote:
	>
	>
	> I would hope that you are as dismayed as I am over the
brouhaha regarding
	> the recent Newbery winner "The Higher Power of Lucky" by Susan
Patron, due 
	> to the fact that it contains the word scrotum.  This is the
correct name for
	> a body part.  How is it a dirty word?
	>
	> I was even more dismayed when a staff member who is working on
her MLS told 
	> me that at her class the other night she was the only student
in the class
	> who would keep the book in a children's collection, and the
rest of the
	> students were appalled by the use of "dirty words" and would
never allow 
	> such a book in any children's collection for which they might
be
	> responsible.
	>
	> Are we failing to teach our MLS students the basic principles
of
	> intellectual freedom?  I find their reaction very troubling
for the future 
	> of our profession.
	>
	> Connie
	>
	>
	>
	>
	> Connie Jo Ozinga, Director  cjo at elkhart.lib.in.us
	> (574)522-3333   www.elkhart.lib.in.us
<http://www.elkhart.lib.in.us> 
	> Elkhart Public Library Elkhart, IN  46516
	>
	> The Elkhart Public Library provides access to resources which
inform,
	> educate, enlighten and entertain our diverse
community.....Books are just 
	> the beginning.
	>
	>
	>
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