Not everyone was amused by the John Oliver send-up of a picture book by the wife and daughter of Vice-President Mike Pence.
sa国际传媒淟ast Week Tonight With John Oliver Presents A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo,sa国际传媒� in which the Pencesa国际传媒檚 family bunny turns out to be gay, was among the books most objected to in 2018 at the countrysa国际传媒檚 public libraries. The bestselling parody ranked No. 2 on the list of sa国际传媒渃hallengedsa国际传媒� books compiled by the American Library Association, with some complaining about its gay-themed content and political viewpoint.
Oliversa国际传媒檚 book, credited to staff writer Jill Twiss, was a response to the Pencessa国际传媒� sa国际传媒淎 Day in the Life of Marlon Bundosa国际传媒� and to the familysa国际传媒檚 conservative social viewpoint. The Pences themselves did not publicly object, and daughter Charlotte Pence has even said she purchased a copy of the sa国际传媒淟ast Week Tonightsa国际传媒� book, noting that proceeds were going to charities for AIDS and suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth.
The library association announced Monday that Alex Ginosa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淕eorge,sa国际传媒� a middle-grade novel about a transgender child, was No. 1 on its list. Others included Angie Thomassa国际传媒� bestseller about a teen girl whose friend is shot by police, sa国际传媒淭he Hate U Givesa国际传媒� (drug use, profanity, sa国际传媒渁nti-copsa国际传媒� bias); and Dav Pilkeysa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淐aptain Underpantssa国际传媒� series (same-sex couple, sa国际传媒渆ncouraging disruptive behavioursa国际传媒�).
The report also includes Raina Telgemeiersa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淒rama,sa国际传媒� Jay Ashersa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淭hirteen Reasons Why,sa国际传媒� Sherman Alexiesa国际传媒檚 prize-winning sa国际传媒渟a国际传媒漈he Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,sa国际传媒� Mariko and Jillian Tamakisa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淭his One Summersa国际传媒� and Judy Schachnersa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淪kippyjon Jonessa国际传媒� series. Books included on the list in previous years range from sa国际传媒淭o Kill a Mockingbirdsa国际传媒� to the sa国际传媒淗arry Pottersa国际传媒� series.
The ALA usually lists 10 books, but included 11 this year because two tied for 10th place: Gayle E. Pitmansa国际传媒檚 and Kristyna Littensa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淭his Day in June,sa国际传媒� and David Leviathansa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淭wo Boys Kissing,sa国际传媒� both cited for LGBTQIA+ content and both among those burned last October in Orange City, Iowa, by the director of a sa国际传媒減ro-familysa国际传媒� group called Rescue the Perishing.
Deborah Caldwell Stone, interim director of the library associationsa国际传媒檚 Office for Intellectual Freedom, said the protests from parents and other local residents about gay content reflected a sa国际传媒減ushbacksa国际传媒� as sa国际传媒渨riters work to be more inclusive of underrepresented or marginalized communities.sa国际传媒�
The list is part of the associationsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淪tate of Americasa国际传媒檚 Libraries Reportsa国际传媒� and comes at the start of National Library Week, which begins Wednesday. The ALA defines a sa国际传媒渃hallengesa国际传媒� as a sa国际传媒渇ormal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.sa国际传媒� The list is based on news reports and on accounts submitted from libraries, although the ALA believes many challenges go unreported. The association tracked 347 challenges last year, compared to 356 in 2017.
sa国际传媒淭he number has been fairly steady over the past few years,sa国际传媒� Stone said.
The ALA did not have a number for books actually pulled from library shelves or moved to an adult section.
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Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
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