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Susan Patron
c/o Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
 
18 February 2007
 
Dear Susan Patron,
 
As the controversy swirls around The Higher Power of Lucky, I would like you
to know that I am grateful to you for having written this book.
 
Lucky is the kind of character who can spark a child's interest in reading
and help him/her experience the lived-through life that quality literature
offers. Lucky is spunky and smart, resilient and resourceful. And you have
shared her story with humor and compassion.
 
Your use of the proper and biologically-correct term scrotum is not and
should not be cause for alarm. I served for twelve years as a school
librarian, ten years at the elementary level. I would not have hesitated to
include The Higher Power of Lucky in any of the four elementary school
library collections for which I selected books. (Those libraries spanned the
socioeconomic and demographic spectrum.) I would not have found it difficult
to defend the selection of this title.
 
I supposed if you had thought about it you could have chosen to "play it
safe" and have the adult character use the word crouch. Or, you could have
chosen to take a confrontational stance and had him use words likes nuts or
balls.
 
But as the New York Times article quotes you, scrotum is a more interesting
word, one that would make a character like Lucky (or any ten-year-old kid)
wonder what it means (if he/she didn't already know) or believe she/he had
overheard something particularly adult (and as you say "delicious").
 
As a librarian yourself, you know that selection should not be confused for
censorship. School librarians should not be in the business of banning
books. Some will choose not to select this book because they fear parent,
teacher, principal, or community reprisals.
 
Most, however, will read the book cover-to-cover, fall in love with Lucky,
and refuse to accept that s-c-r-o-t-u-m is a four-letter word that ruins the
entire book by appearing twice in 134 pages of a well-written and engaging
story.
 
Please do not lose heart. When the media frenzy subsides, your readers will
find Lucky and be the better for having read her story.
 
Sincerely,
Judi Moreillon
 
 
Judi Moreillon, M.L.S., Ph.D.
Literacies and Libraries Consultant
Author:  <http://tinyurl.com/yzvy5g> Collaborative Strategies for Teaching
Reading Comprehension: Maximizing Your Impact
 <http://storytrail.com/> http://storytrail.com
 
 

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