The book is intentionally ridiculous. The possibility it could be kept off shelves is chilling.
An installment of Kari Lavelle’s enormously popular Butt or Face? series, Volume 3: Super Gross Butts, drew attention from two Texas school boards reviewing pending library acquisitions under the new state law that bans materials with “indecent or profane content” from school libraries and requires all proposed book purchases to be available for review for at least 30 days.
“Why do we need a book in elementary school that is about super gross butts?” one La Grange Independent School District board member asked as the panel went over a list of books waiting approval for purchase by librarians at its October meeting.
The bestselling series uses a guessing game in which readers must decide, as the title suggests, whether pictures depicting various animals in nature are showing their front or rear ends. The concept delights children, as anyone who’s ever met a 5-year-old can imagine.
“They’re judging a book by its title and cover,” author Lavelle told PEN America.
“It’s a silly title, but that’s exactly what hooks the readers in,” she said. “Before they know it, they’re learning all sorts of STEM-focused science about animals – adaptations, camouflage, mimicry. The educational value of these books is more than you might think.”
In fact, it goes beyond just teaching kids about weird, or even super-gross, animals.
“Librarians and teachers tell me about these readers who weren’t into reading and discovered the series,” Lavelle said. “Parents tell me that they’re thrilled that they’ve found books that their kids will excitedly read.”
“There’s really nothing better than that when you’re a writer.”
And there’s nothing worse than having your work wrongly rejected. Lavelle, to her knowledge, has never had one of her books removed from the shelves of a school or public library, the way almost 2,600 authors, illustrators and translators did in the last school year. But she has experienced censorship.
“My very first author visit, with my book We Move the World, was canceled because it was too political,” she said. The picture book features the stories of scientists, activists, artists and more, from Neil Armstrong to Ruth Bader Ginsberg, to teach kids about how small accomplishments can add up to making a big impact with your life.
In La Grange, Butt or Face? Volume 3 was pulled from the broader list approved at the board’s October meeting and will be the subject of discussion at the Dec. 15 meeting, according to the Fayette County Record.
In a second Texas district just days after the La Grange meeting, the arguments made by parents in Sequine ISD who vocally supported book purchases, including Butt or Face Volume 3, outweighed those who called for bans, and the list was approved over one board trustee’s objections. “I think it is probably a hilarious book for a crazy uncle to give you, but I don’t think it is appropriate material to be having in our library,” that trustee said.
“I would urge them to pick up a copy and read it, so they can see the educational value of these books,” Lavelle said.
“These objections speak to the concerns advocates for the freedom to read have been warning about for years,” Texas Freedom to Read posted. “If school librarians lose the ability to curate collections that appeal to ALL readers- especially the most reluctant ones- our kids will lose opportunities to learn and to fall in love with reading.”
Texas law requires that each district’s school board approve all library purchases and donations, and that any book held by a school library be immediately removed if challenged.
“The only thing ‘super gross’ here is the restriction on libraries purchasing vibrant new literature for children,” said Kasey Meehan, director of the Freedom to Read program at PEN America. “If this is the response to a nonfiction book about animals, imagine the difficulty librarians might have getting approval for books about marginalized people or sex education books – books and stories being pulled from shelves across the country.”
La Grange at least gave itself time to consider the book. Hopefully, the district will take a cue from Sequine and approve the book in December.
“If you look at the book and you look through it, it’s just a fun book that the kids are taking off the shelf, and it may be that one book that they get that hooks them and gets them into reading,” Seguin ISD’s Lead Librarian and Seguin High School Librarian Jackie Silvius said at the board’s meeting. “It’s definitely not teaching them the word ‘butt’ because they know the word. It’s kind of maybe that gateway book that, ‘OK, this is good, what’s my next book that I can get?’ I understand, but it’s just one of those good, humorous, elementary, funny books for kids.”
