[LM_NET] My Letter to the NYT

[Rocco Staino <staino@WORLDNET.ATT.NET>]

As you may have gathered the article in the New York Times just hit me the wrong 
way.  Therefore, I needed to vent in the form of a letter.

You may know that it is extremely difficult to get a letter published.  So here it 
is for all of you on lm net.

To the Editor:

RE: With One Word, Children's Book Sets Off Uproar (Front Page, February 18, 2007)

As a person who has been involved with school libraries for over thirty years, I am 
concerned with the views expressed by school library professionals regarding the 
2007 Newbery winner, The Higher Power of Lucky.   The article depicts librarians as 
book censors rather than book selectors.  Every school and library has a selection 
policy which guides the purchase of materials to be included in  library 
collections.  Single words or the possibility of angry telephones calls should not 
effect the overall selection of a book.  Award winning books with positive reviews 
deserve a place in a library collection so that those who wish to read the book may 
have access to the book. 

In addition, a librarian from Durango, Colorado states, "you won't find men's 
genitalia in quality literature ... at least not for children".  This is not true.  
In the 1971 Caldecott Honor Book by Maurice Sendak, In the Night Kitchen,  the 
young character Mickey's genitalia is displayed.  This book, Judy Blume's Are You 
There God, It's Me Margaret and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series may have stirred 
controversy; nevertheless, they are part of childhood memories endeared by many of 
today's adults.  Surely, The Higher Power of Lucky will find a similar place with 
today's children.

Rocco Staino
Past President 
New York Library Association 2004-2005
131 Hooker Avenue
Poughkeepsie, New York 12601

rocco.staino@gmail.com

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