The Illinois Family Institute published a
blog article by Laurie Higgins criticizing the annual Banned Book Weeks campaigns, which are sponsored by the American Library Association. Basically, the ALA highlights those books which are banned the most by local library boards and patrons and lots of those books feature LGBT characters and storylines. Needless to say, Higgins isn't a fan of Banned Book Week -- mostly because she believes that it's not as big of an issue as is implied, but also because
librarians are not actively seeking out books featuring the following themes:
- Young adult (YA) novels about teens who feel sadness and resentment about being intentionally deprived of a mother or father and who seek to find their missing biological parents.
- Dark, angsty novels about teens who are damaged by the promiscuity of their “gay” “fathers” who hold sexual monogamy in disdain.
- Novels about young adults who are consumed by a sense of loss and bitterness that their politically correct and foolish parents allowed them during the entirety of their childhood to cross-dress, change their names, and take medication to prevent puberty, thus deforming their bodies.
- Novels about teens who suffer because of the harrowing fights and serial “marriages” of their lesbian mothers.
- Picture books that show the joy a little birdie experiences when after the West Nile virus deaths of her two daddies, she’s finally adopted by a daddy and mommy.
“Surely,” Higgins asserts, “there are some teens and children who will identify with such stories.”
I guess I'm curious if such books exist? Is there a book featuring a little bird whose gay parents died from the West Nile virus, who was later joyfully adopted by a mom and a dad? If so, I'd really appreciate it if you could post the title in the comments section. If not, then I really want to write that book. Would you be willing to do the artwork, Stuffed Animal? And, more importantly, will we need to give credit to Laurie Higgins and/or the Illinois Family Institute?
