"The little girl's name was Wendy Sue.  She was like seven or some s**t ...  One night I pulled her shirt up and stared at her body.  She didn't even know it cuz she was sleeping." -- 33 Snowfish, by Adam Rapp.

Accompanying an illustration of two naked men kissing and hugging in the shower, one man says to the other:  "Let's rub a little soap on the white boy's skin." -- Stuck Rubber Baby, by Howard Cruse.

"I'm a fat kid with faggot parents who's been in therapy for 18 years."  "You b***h!...You b***h! ...You b***h." -- Athletic Shorts:  Six Short Stories, by Chris Cutcher.

"What would happen if a boy had intercourse with an animal?...  You would be best advised to keep any knowledge of it to yourself so you can avoid either ridicule or punishment, or both...you're not a monster, no matter what society may think about it." -- Boys and Sex, by Ward B. Pomeroy, Ph.D.

These are direct excerpts from some of the books available to minor children in our public libraries today.  If I had not seen these books for myself, I, like many of you, may not have believed it.  Gone are the days when a parent could feel good about their child being at the library after school or on a Saturday afternoon, confident that they were in a place filled with uplifting, wholesome books.  Unfortunately, that is not the case anymore.

Thank goodness for a group like Grassroots American Values, which has done its research, and has brought this reality to the attention of the general public.  This group does not advocate censoring these books, rather suggests that they be moved to areas of the library that are not so freely accessible to children.

I believe this is a fair and reasonable request.

Cynthia J. Glass
Sandusky

URL of this page:  http://www.plan2succeed.org/grassroots/move_the_books10mar2006by_cynthia_j_glass.htm