Movie Review: Horton Hears a Who!

The picture book version of Horton Hears a Who! By Dr. Seuss is the story of Horton the elephant and the people of a very small town called “Whoville”. On the 15th of May Horton is splashing around in a pool when he hears a “yelp for help” coming from a small speck of dust. Horton soon realizes that there are a whole bunch of small people called “Whos” living on this speck of dust. Horton moves the speck of dust onto a clover, and decides to protect these small people. A kangaroo and her baby come over and make fun of Horton, because they can’t hear the “Whos” so they think that Horton is crazy. Horton tells the kangaroos that, “A persons a person, no matter how small” (Seuss) so he is going to keep protecting these people. The Wickersham Brothers, a couple of jungle monkeys, also make fun of Horton for protecting the “Whos” and they climb up Horton’s trunk, steal the clover, and give it to a black-bottomed eagle named Vlad Vlad-i-koff who flies off with the clover throughout the night at Horton chases after him. The next morning Vlad Vlad-i-koff drops the clover with the “Whos” on it into a huge field of clovers, and tells Horton that he will never find the “Whos” now. Horton searches and searches through three million clovers until he finally finds the “Whos” again. Horton checks with the Mayor of Whoville and everyone is fine, but a bit shaken up from their long bouncy journey.

As Horton is checking on the Mayor and the people of Whoville, the kangaroo and her baby come along with the Wickersham Brothers and dozens of their relatives, and tell Horton that they are going to tie him up and put him in a cage and boil his clover in Beezle-Nut oil, because they think he is crazy for talking to people that “aren’t real”. Horton decides that he must prove to everyone that the “Whos” are real, so he asks the Mayor to get all the “Whos” in “Whoville” the scream and shout, so that the other animals can hear them. The people of “Whoville” scream, and Horton can hear them loud and clear with his big elephant ears, but the other animals cannot. Horton encourages the people of “Whoville” to keep trying, and they do. They jump and scream and yell, they play banjos, drums, and bang on tin pans, but still they cannot be heard. Horton tells the Mayor to check the whole town, and make sure that everyone is making some sound. The Mayor searches “Whoville” and finds one very little boy, Jo-Jo, in apartment 12-J that isn’t making any noise at all. The Mayor runs with Jo-Jo to the top of the Eiffelberg Tower, and Jo-Jo yells out “YOPP!!”, and with that one extra voice the kangaroo, her baby, the Wickersham Brothers, and all of their relatives hear the people of “Whoville” and believe that they are real. After the people of “Whoville” are heard, Horton AND Kangaroo promise to protect them from now on and Kangaroo says, “From sun in the summer. From rain when it’s fall-ish, I’m going to protect them. No matter how small-ish!” (Dr. Seuss).


The 2008 production of “Horton Hears a Who!” directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino has a runtime of 86 minutes, leaving a lot of time for artistic interpretation or deviation from the 72 page story. In general the basic plot of the movie is the same as the book, Horton hears a noise that he thinks could be a person coming from a speck of dust, Horton makes contact with the people of “Whoville” living on that speck of dust, and then Horton makes it his mission to protect the people of “Whoville” from whatever dangers they might encounter in the jungle. The main characters are the same, Horton is the hero, Kangaroo is the leader of the antagonism against Horton, and the Mayor of “Whoville” is the person that makes contact with Horton. In addition to these main characters Hayward and Martino have taken the liberty of adding a few new faces to the story, as well as changing information about some of the other secondary characters in the book. Some of the new characters shown in the movie version of this classic tale are a mole-rat called Morton, Horton’s best friend and partner in crime, and also is Horton’s more rationale counterpart. During the film Morton argues with Horton to try and make him give up on “Whoville” to avoid persecution from Mrs. Kangaroo. Other new characters in the movie version include the Mayor’s wife, the Mayor’s 96 daughters, Dr. LaRue, the town’s local scientist and professor, and the Town of “Whoville’s” city council, who make it their mission to boss around and belittle the Mayor.

Some alterations to the characters that occurred in the movie were that Mrs. Kangaroo’s baby actually has a name, Ruddy, and is more rebellious in the movie as opposed to in the book where he is very obedient to his mothers commands. Mrs. Kangaroo is also portrayed like an overbearing PTA mom, who “pouch-schools” her baby, because she just cannot stand Horton and his silly antics. In the movie there is also a lot more character development with Horton, we find out that he is a teacher in the Jungle who everyone, especially Mrs. Kangaroo, thinks is silly and foolish. We also find out that Horton is very lonely, and that he’s excited to have the people on the speck as his new friends. The Wickersham brothers have a much smaller role in the movie than the book, in the movie they are portrayed as a bunch of party animals and they do not help steal the clover from Horton like they do in the book. In the movie JoJo, the hero at the end of the story, is actually the Mayor’s gothic, quiet, and reclusive son. JoJo is the heir to the Mayor’s seat and doesn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps, so he spends his time alone in an observatory in the sky full of musical instruments, and doesn’t talk to anybody. It says in the movie that JoJo doesn’t speak to his father because he is afraid that if he tells him the truth about what he actually wants to do with his future, he will let him down or disappoint him.

A few interesting and humorous scenes were added to the movie, probably to make it longer, that don’t occur in the book. In one scene the Mayor is at the dentist while Horton is carrying the clover across a thin rope bridge to reach the Mountain of Nool. As Horton is walking across the unstable bridge it is swaying back and forth and pieces are breaking beneath his weight, and as he wiggles around the city of Whoville experiences a small earthquake, and the Mayor gets a shot of Novocain right in the arm instead of the mouth. These scenes didn’t add much to the storyline or the plot, but they were humorous to watch and would make children think about the kinds of things that could happen while living on a small speck. There is also a scene where the Mayor is putting his 96 daughters to bed, and one of them asks for a glass of water. After that all 95 other daughters ask for a glass of water too, so the Mayor has to carry 96 glasses of water up a windy staircase to the girls’ bedroom. This was another scene that didn’t add much to the plot of the story, but would be funny for kids to think about.

The narration for this movie contains some of the key phrases and passages from the book, and continues in the same rhyming style of Dr. Seuss, but obviously 86 minutes worth of film requires some deviation from the exact text of the book. Some of the more interesting quotes from the movie from Horton are, “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, an Elephant’s faithful, one hundred percent,” and from Mrs. Kangaroo (talking about Horton) “the Jungle is no place to act like an animal,” and (talking about the Whos) “If you can’t see, hear, or feel something it doesn’t exist.”

Overall I thought that the movie version of “Horton Hears a Who!” was cute and humorous, although it did stray a great deal from the original text. What I liked about the movie was that there was a lot of character development, so you really understood why JoJo was so quiet, or why nobody in Nool really trusted Horton’s judgment. That amount of detail wasn’t available in the book, but the producers of the movie took a lot of artistic liberties and added that detail in on their own. That being said I think that a long time fan of the book might not enjoy the movie, since with the text the reader is really given the opportunity to form their own impressions of what the characters might be like, and in the movie you are denied that flexibility. I watched this movie with the little boy I babysit, and even though he’s only four he thought it was absolutely hilarious, so it is definitely something I would recommend for kids, but I don’t think I would use it in the classroom because there is so much more room for using your own imagination with the text, and the narration in the movie just cannot compare to the classic style of Dr. Seuss.

Movie Review- Because of Winn-Dixie

The story of Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo is about a little girl named India Opal Buloni, but you can just call her Opal, as she likes to say. She is the daughter of a preacher and just moved to Naomi for the preacher’s new job and does not have any friends and is struggling to deal with the fact that her mother left her and the preacher and she does not know why. This is all true until she finds Winn Dixie (a stray dog) in the local Winn Dixie grocery store and claims him as her own. Opal finds out really quickly that Winn-Dixie does not enjoy being alone and he starts to do everything Opal does. This includes going to church, going to work at the pet store, and going to the library. With Winn- Dixie always around Opal ends up making lots of friends, because of Winn-Dixie’s great charm and ability to smile. By the end of the story Opal realizes she does have a “family” in Naomi and that she does not need her Mama in her life for her heart to be full. She evens improves her relationship with the preacher, and he finally comes out of his turtle shell as she likes to call it.

I tend to always be a fan of books more than the movies and it was not any different with Because of Winn-Dixie. It is not that it was a bad movie; the movie was actually done quite well and stayed true to the book with a couple of exceptions. Opal even narrated lines right from the book in the movie during certain scenes and I found that to be a nice touch. I just picture scenes, settings, characters, and emotions differently in my head when reading the book than what directors and producers portray on the big screen. One scene that I thought was portrayed in the movie just like I pictured it in my head when reading Because of Winn-Dixie was when Otis is playing music for the animals in the pet store and they are all out of their cages and just listening. I found this to be a beautiful and moving scene. I did enjoy this scene, but I do not think casting Dave Matthews as Otis was the right decision. I could not get passed the fact that he was Dave Matthews and not “Otis, the drifter”, but I suppose this is a children’s movie and most children are not aware of who Dave Matthews is. Other than the character of Otis, I thought the movie was well cast.

There were some differences /add ins to the movie that were not in the book, some were small and others took a larger role in the movie. The small differences were as follows: in the movie Opal was in love with baseball and she always wore her jersey which was not mentioned in the book. There was a computer and TV in their trailer in the movie, which I thought did not fit well for the setting portrayed in the book, Opal had to hang up lost dog signs for Winn-Dixie, Winn-Dixie almost was taken away by the pound, and there was a police officer out to get Otis in the movie. I am sure all these things were added to make the plot of the movie more interesting and none of these add ins interrupted the original story line of the book too much.

Two larger differences in the movie that were not portrayed in the book were Mr. Alfred’s role. Mr. Alfred is the owner of the trailer park where Opal and the preacher live. In the book he is only mentioned once for letting Opal be an “exception” to live in an all adult trailer park, but in the movie he becomes a “villain” character making the preacher pay rent, because of having Winn-Dixie and threatening to send Winn-Dixie to the pound, but then in the end he ends up coming to Opal’s party just like of the rest of her new friends she makes that summer. The other big difference in the movie is the preacher does not show up to the party until after Opal goes back home to find Winn-Dixie. I feel that the relationship between Opal and her father in the movie seems a lot harsher than I imagined I conjured up in my head when reading the book.

Other then the laid out differences, the movie held pretty true to the book and I enjoyed watching it. For anyone that had not read the book first, I’m sure would have loved the movie. It is a cute family film that is appropriate for all ages and truly shows how important friendship and love really is. I did enjoy the book more, but I would recommend the movie to my friends, because it is a great way to spend an hour and a half and is a heartwarming tale, that I’m sure everyone would enjoy.

Movie Review: Holes

For my movie review, I chose to read the book Holes by Louis Sachar and then watch the Disney movie production afterward. Although I usually find that the book version of a story is much better than the movie version, I have to say that the movie in this case was done very well and was almost equally as good as the book. I was very satisfied with the way the movie portrayed the story told in the book. There were a few exceptions to the movie that left it at second place in my opinion though.

In a book, the detail that is given in order to paint a picture in one’s mind can never really be matched in a movie. I think it would be difficult for someone making a movie to add in specific details to elicit the same emotions from the audience that are drawn out while reading a book. There are just some things that can not be placed in the movie to cause the same reactions.

I think the casting director made great choices for characters, especially for the warden, Mr. Sir, and Dr. Pendanski. The other “delinquents” at the camp were also played by very fitting characters. Although, Stanley Yelnats was described in the book as being overweight and, what seemed to be, a little more lonely than he was portrayed in the movie, I think Shia LaBeouf played the perfect part. His character was very believable and I quickly felt a connection with his character as I did in the book version of Holes.

While there were minor differences in the movie from what I imagined while reading the book, the one major scene of the movie that seemed much different for me while watching the movie was when Stanley goes after Zero into the desert. While I read the book, I felt an immense amount of empathy for the boys. Their struggle seemed unimaginable and I wondered how they could have survived with no water until they reached “God’s thumb” and barely any food. While I was reading the book I found myself feeling a little anxious and wondering if they would be okay. Usually main characters don’t ever die, but I questioned what would happen to them. So, while I felt very attached to the characters in the book and couldn’t put it down until

I knew they would be safe, the movie didn’t give me the same feelings. Perhaps it’s because I already knew they would be okay, but I think that if I were to have just watched the movie, their struggle and journey to and from God’s thumb wouldn’t have been as believable. In the movie, Stanley and Zero don’t show as much desperation as I imagined in their eyes in the book. Their journey to and from Camp Green Lake did not seem as far or painful and I noticed I wasn’t as worried that they wouldn’t make it.

Besides a few minor setting details, another difference between the book and the movie was the way in which the boys’ relationships were portrayed. While reading the book I felt that Stanley had a much more difficult time getting along and fitting in with the other boys of Camp Green Lake. Throughout the book, I felt that Stanley was much lonelier, while in the movie it seemed like Zero was really the outcast of the group. In the book, I felt worse for Stanley’s character than in the movie.

Again, I think it’s hard to replicate the same feelings from a book as from a movie, nevertheless the movie did include all of the most important scenes from the book. I liked how the movie switched back and forth from the present day with Stanley Yelnats IV at the dried out lake to the days with his great great grandfather, Madame Zeroni, Kissin’ Kate Barlow, and Sam. The scenes all came together very nicely and made sense to the audience just as the book did.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and thought that the movie complimented it well. I recommend that people read the book before viewing the movie in order to really have a feel for the characters and their emotions.

Lit. circle response: The City of Ember

I was part of the City of Ember literature circle. Overall, my experience as a member of this literature circle was very positive. I thought the book itself was great. As it did for many other members of my group, the book pulled me in right away. I finished the book very quickly because I couldn't let myself put it down. This was the type of book where you needed to know what was going to happen next, even if that meant getting a little less sleep in order to do so. I wanted to know whether Lina and Doon made it to the new city that Lina dreamed of. While the ending left me with closure, I'm hoping I can find time to read the other books in this series to answer questions I still have about Ember and it's people. I think that The City of Ember would be a great book for children in the upper elementary grades to use for a literature circle. For younger grades, I think this book would be a great read aloud. In both instances, I can see potential for great discussions and opportunities for students to make connections with the story.

My group chose to try the movie production literature circle. I personally really liked this format of the literature circle. I think it makes the roles a little more exciting and meaningful for students. I also think it encourages students to notice detail in the story, allowing them to visualize what is going on and therefore creating a movie in their head as they read. After discussing the other books after our last lit circles, I think it's important for teachers to know the books that they are assigning because as The Book Thief group noticed, it would be difficult to make their book into a movie production. Teachers shouldn't offer the movie production option to students if the book does not fit the format well. Also, when using the movie option, I think that it would be difficult to actually make books into a production, but having each student make actual products for their role would be appropriate. Of course if time allowed for an actual production for a portion of the movie to be made, that would be a lot of fun. I liked Sue's idea that she shared in class of just watching the actual movie version of the book if one is available.

In general, the literature circle is a great way for students to discuss books. In our group we discussed that each child should be allowed to initially choose a role so that they can be successful as a member of a lit circle. This would allow students to use their own intelligences and get the students excited about reading their book. We also did discuss though that the roles should be switched in order to give everyone turns with particular roles and to challenge themselves. We thought it was important to break the chapters up so that children would have less chapters to read and therefore be able to focus on the selected ones more carefully. Not to mention, it would be less overwhelming for the students. The literature circle is a great way to involve each student in the process of reading a book. Like in our City of Ember group, each group member had a separate role which made them accountable for a particular piece of work. It gave everyone the opportunity to talk about the book which would initiate great conversation around different topics. As the director for the second half of the book, I found that it would be important for the teacher to guide certain roles, such as the director. For example, the director should be instructed to ask questions that provoke different responses such as transparent or performative. These questions would be more meaningful than a student asking his or her group members yes or no questions.

I think that the lit. circles enable students to feel empowered in their own learning, but it is also okay for teachers to guide their students in the right direction. Teachers should know each of their students so that they can pick books that would best fit their interests and abilities.

All in all, my literature circle experience was very positive and I hope to use it in my own class someday.

Thoughts on The Book Thief Literature Circle

In my groups literature circle we decided to try and turn The Book Thief into a movie. It seemed exciting and we were enthusiastic at first. We set aside a section of the text we would read up to and reconvened a few weeks later.

Upon meeting a second time, we seemed a little baffled. With 4 members in a group we weren't really clear on what to do. Some tasks seemed really overwhelming - like the scene selector (my task). With our book there was so much character development, and the construction of the text it seemed impossible to select items to "film" without turning the movie into an 8 hour production. We liked the idea of this project for a larger group of people and with a more action based book.

I was so excited by the City of Ember group it was easy to see how cool this type of a literature circle could be. I like the differentiation possibilities, the hands-on extensions and the connection which brings the kids to imagine what the book looks like. I believe that writing and reading is about bringing a movie into your mind. It's the most beautiful part about reading - being able to travel to lands that don't exist, fly or solve a horrible crime - readers can do all that and more between the covers of a book.

I am excited to hold onto this idea and present it to our language arts department, but knowing my school - I think the teachers in the 8th grade language arts department would actually grab onto this and run with it.

I appreciated the opportunity to try this out and the enthusiasm I witnessed the other groups having was contagious.

Literature Circle Reflection- The City of Ember

For our literature circles I was in The City of Ember group. I fell in love with the book right from the beginning and started it and finished it over the Fourth of July weekend. I found the plot to be very intriguing and once I reached the end of the book, I knew I was going to have to read the next three books in the series, because I became so invested in Lina and Doon and I still have so many unanswered questions. I feel because since the story is so thought provoking, The City of Ember would be a great book to do with children for a literature circle in an upper elementary classroom.


Our group decided to try the movie production literature circle, and it turned out great! There were eight members in our group, so we each had one job to complete before we met each time. I think by only being responsible for one job, we each put so much more effort into our work, because we only had to concentrate on that one responsibility. My job for the first ten chapters was the production designer and I made a collage of costume ideas, props, and set designs for “our” movie, and for the last ten chapters I was the soundtrack producer and I made a CD for sounds for specific scenes in the second half of “our” movie. I felt by having the jobs laid out in this way, I got more excited because I was looking forward to see what other people thought of for the creation of “our” movie, and discussing this in the group we all felt laying out a literature circle with this twist would help hook kids to the idea. We all thought that the jobs we were assigned helped us visualize the story more and hopefully this would happen to our students in the same way, and get the most responses out of them from analytical to performative. The City of Ember translated well into a movie, but all books do not and this is something that we as teachers need to think about before assigning the movie production literature circles.


During the actual literature circles the director would run the show and we would all share our jobs one by one and eventually we would end up having a great discussion about the book, which in the end is what literature circles are all about. When talking about how this type of literature circle would play out in the classroom, as a group we decided smaller sections of the books would have to be assigned and the groups would have to meet more often, so the students would not be so overwhelmed. We also discussed rotating the jobs and also assigning jobs to people’s strengths to hit on Multiple Intelligences. I also feel it would be helpful for the teacher to sit in on the first couple of discussions to help the students understand how to run their literature circles. Lastly, but probably the most important, teachers need to know their students and make sure they assign novels that will be interesting and engaging for their students, so they can get the positive results of rich discussions during their literature circles.


I know in my group and when we had the whole class share about their groups, it sounded like everyone had a positive experience with their books and their literature circles. I thought the experience was great and I think it is definitely something I would love to try in the classroom someday if I end up teaching in the higher grades (I don’t think it will work out so well next year when I am interning in first grade). All in all a great experience!

Meeting the Literature Challenge: A case study based on a true story

The Definition:

“A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others” (Censorship in the Schools).

The Scenario:

The Thomas Jefferson School is a public school servicing children in preschool through grade eight located in a small community in the New Hampshire Seacoast. The town is known for its liberal politics and relatively affluent population. It is a community where education is valued because it is home to the state university and many of the parents work for the university as professors or staff. The Thomas Jefferson School Library Media Center utilizes a cadre of parent volunteers to help with shelving and other non-professional tasks. One of the weekly volunteers at the school library media center is a professor at the university, a community leader, and very influential in town politics. The parent volunteer was browsing through the “Everybody” or picture books section to choose some books to borrow to read to his four year old. He happened to pick up The Amazing Bone by William Steig who is an acclaimed Newbery Award winning author and Caldocott Award winning illustrator (Awards). The Amazing Bone received the 1976 Caldecott Honor (Awards).

As a good parent should, he previewed the book before deciding to take it home. He was shocked at the contents of the book. Specifically, he had an issue with the conflict within the plot. The protagonist, a young pig dressed in a pretty pink dress and sun bonnet, is mugged by a band of robbers who point guns at her and threaten her with knives. The parent asked the teacher-librarian, who is a professionally trained and certified School Library Media Specialist, to take the book off of the shelves of the library because of the violent content. The teacher-librarian listened thoughtfully to his concerns and said she would review the book. The teacher-librarian immediately alerted the principal to the conversation and re-read the book in question.

A Synopsis of The Amazing Bone:

The picture book tells the story of a pig named Pearl who is on her way home from school. Instead of hurrying home she walks slowly, enjoying the day. She is sublimely happy and feels at one with creation. As she sits in the woods talking to herself, she hears a voice replying to her. She discovers a bone who can speak in multiple languages and imitate any sound. Pearl asks the bone if she may take it home in her purse. The bone is happy to be with Pearl. He finds it a pleasant change from the witch who he used to belong to. On their way home, Pearl is accosted by three robbers who want her purse. They point guns at her head and threaten her with a knife. Despite the danger, she refuses to give the robbers the purse because she does not want to part with the bone. During this encounter the bone hisses like a snake and hows like a lion. The robbers are frightened and run away. Not long afterwards, a suave but wily fox tries to kidnap Pearl so as to eat her for dinner. The bone tries to scare the fox away but he is not frightened. Instead the fox successfully kidnaps Pearl. The fox locks Pearl and the bone up while he prepares to cook her. At the last moment, the bone surprises himself and Pearl by uttering magic words which reduce the fox to the size of a mouse. Pearl and the bone escape and run home to her worried parents who are delighted to see their daughter and accept the bone as part of the family. The illustrations are done in Steig’s trademark cartoon style with beautiful light pastel colors.

Theme of The Amazing Bone

The School Library Media Specialist feels that The Amazing Bone is drawn from traditional literature and is a fractured version of Little Red Riding Hood. She feels the theme shows an innocent, strong, courageous and self-reliant girl who is able to save herself from two death threats through the help of her friend, the bone. She feels the book depicts a worthy message or theme. She understands that some sensitive children, especially younger children may be frightened by the conflict depicted in the book, but she also understands that not all picture books are appropriate for every child. Hence, each parent has the right to decide what books are appropriate for their own child, however, no parent has the right to decide what books are appropriate for every child in the school.

What’s the Verdict?
After reading the story, the teacher-librarian personally concluded that this book should remain on the library’s shelves. As a professional librarian she adheres to the American Library Association Code of Ethics. Point II states: “We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources” (Code of Ethics). She also adheres to the American Library Association Bill of Rights. Point III states: “Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment” (Bill of Rights).

Next Steps:

Because challenges to materials occur frequently and can often generate a great deal of controversy and media attention, (and if handled poorly can cost the School Library Media Specialist her job) the teacher-librarian knows that she must have written policies and procedures in place which must be followed scrupulously.

In order to professionally move through a challenge, a school needs to have both Collection Development and Challenged Materials policies and procedures in place. Collection Development policies are necessary to determine how instructional, informational, and recreational materials are selected for use in the school and who is ultimately responsible for their selection. Challenged Materials policies and procedures provide step by step guidance and protection of school staff. Both Collection Development and Challenged Materials policies and procedures should be formally adopted by the school board and should be scheduled for periodic review every three years.

Although the Collection Development and Challenged Materials policies and procedures are in place at her school, the policies are scheduled for a review this year. As part of the review process, the School Library Media Specialist obtained the Collection Development and Challenged Materials policies and procedures from three different schools: Henniker Community School (K-8), North Hampton School (PK-8), and Winnacunnet High School (See Appendix). The Collection Development and Challenged Materials policies and procedures outlined below are an amalgamation of these district’s policies and procedures.

Collection Development Policies:

…should promote intellectual freedom through a recognition of the value of information in a variety of formats. Materials should reflect the cultural diversity and pluralistic nature of contemporary American society. The policy should include the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights and other appropriate intellectual freedom statements from professional associations such as the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, International Reading Association, National Council of Teachers of English, and the National Council for the Social Studies. (Hopkins)

It is part of the Library Media Specialist’s job to select materials and literature appropriate for the curricular needs of the school including the instructional, informational and recreational reading needs of the students. The School Library Media Specialist selects materials that are highly regarded, but may not be appropriate for every child or every family. Obviously in a prekindergarten through grade eight school, there are going to be a wide range of books and other materials with a range of content and messages. Traditionally, picture books are written for children up to age eight, but that thinking has changed over the past decade. Currently, picture books are published for tweens, teens and even adults as the intended audience. Therefore, although The Amazing Bone is shelved in the “Everybody” or picture book collection, it may be more appropriate for elementary grade readers rather than for the youngest students in the school.

After reviewing all three of the collected school districts’ polices regarding collection development the School Library Media Specialist found they were very similar. They all indicated:

• That the Superintendent of Schools or the School Board designates professionals within the school district to select appropriate materials, yet the Superintendent or School Board is ultimately responsible for the selection of materials used in the school.
• Responsibilities for actual selection rest with the appropriate personnel such as the School Library Media Specialist or administrators.

As a School Library Media Specialist materials are selected which:

• Enrich and support the curriculum and are of interest to students
• Are appropriate for the subject area and for the age, emotional development, ability level, learning style and social development of the students
• Present opposing sides of controversial issues
• Are representative of diverse religious, ethnic, and cultural groups and show their contributions to society
• Depict in an accurate and unbiased way the cultural diversity and pluralistic nature of society.

Collection Development Procedures:

A review of the three districts’ Collection Development Procedures showed that the procedures were also very similar. The procedures indicated that the School Library Media Specialist selects materials by consulting reputable professional selection aids. Often this means that the Library Media Specialist chooses books or other materials that have at least two favorable reviews from well regarded sources such as School Library Journal, Booklist, or Horn Book or titles that are included in Wilson’s Catalogs or other best books for children guides. This way if a book or other material is challenged, she can point to at least two favorable reviews to defend her selection. If the material does not have two favorable reviews from well regarded journals, the teacher-librarian may choose to include it in the collection if she has personally read, viewed or examined it herself although this is a more risky collection strategy because it is less defendable.

Challenged Materials Policies:

Often Challenged Material Policies include a statement embracing the principles of intellectual freedom promoted through the American Library Association Bill of Rights and Code of Ethics. These documents as well as the American Library Association Freedom to Read and Freedom to View statements are the basis of well written Challenged Materials Polices (Click on the links to read these policies in their entirety). Challenges often come from an individual parent but can also come from organized groups or even from the staff of a school, including the principal. With these documents in place, the American Library Association can be a helpful resource in navigating a challenge.

Challenged Materials Procedures:

In reviewing the Challenged Materials Policies and Procedures obtained from the various districts, it was noted that all the policies and procedures were quite similar. Based on carefully considering all three policies, the following is a compilation of the best of all the features:

• The challenged material remains on the shelves and in circulation pending a review however, if the challenger requests, the challenger’s children will not be given access or taught the material in question
• The building principal is immediately made aware of a challenge whether the challenge is in writing or made orally through a personal conversation
• The building principal contacts the challenger to discuss the complaint and attempt to resolve it informally
• If the challenge is not resolved informally the challenger will be given a Request for Reconsideration Form to fill out along with school board policies regarding a challenge
• If the Request for Reconsideration Form is not returned within two weeks the case with be considered closed
• If the Request for Reconsideration Form is returned, the principal shall acknowledge receipt of the form and explain to the challenger the procedures and steps taken to review the material.
• The Principal shall convene a Reconsideration Committee consisting of:
• The Principal
• The School Library Media Specialist
• The Curriculum Director
• A Faculty member
• A School Board Member
• A community member
• The committee shall meet to make a recommendation and prepare a report on the challenged material keeping in mind the rights of intellectual freedom. Within one month of receiving a written challenge the committee shall:

· Thoroughly examine the challenged material

· Determine professional acceptance by reading critical reviews of the material in question

· Consider the material as a whole rather than passages pulled out of context, and weigh values and faults of the materials

· Discuss the challenged material in the context of the educational program

· Develop a written report which includes the process undertaken by the committee and documents used by the committee in its investigation and the decision reached by the committee. This report shall include the majority and minority opinions.

· The committee shall submit its report to the Superintendent.

· The principal shall notify the challenger of the decision in writing and shall include the written report and notification of the appeal process.

· If the challenger appeals the decision, the School Board shall make a final determination in a written report. The School Board may seek assistance from the American Library Association and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

· The Principal shall notify the challenger in writing of the School Board’s decision.

· If materials have been reviewed and upheld, the same material may not be subjected to further reconsideration for three years from the date of the decision report.

• The School Library Media Specialist shall notify the American Library Association of the written challenge and the outcome of the challenge.

Back to The Amazing Bone Challenge:

Given the oral nature of the challenge, the School Library Media Specialist met with the principal and relayed the conversation she had with the parent. She also provided the principal a copy of The Amazing Bone for his review. The principal solicited the School Library Media Specialists’ opinion about the book. The principal also read the book and decided that he agreed with the School Library Media Specialist to leave the book in the stacks. He asked the School Library Media Specialist to invite the parent to speak with him about the challenge. Prior to that meeting, though, the principal asked that the School Library Media Specialist prepare talking points for the book including her understanding of the theme of the book, an explanation as to what a fractured fairy tale is, information about the author’s reputation, and the parameters of the “Everybody” or picture book collection.

What Happened?

The School Library Media Specialist spoke with the parent the next week when he came in to volunteer and invited him to meet with the Principal. At the meeting, the Principal used the talking points provided by the School Library Media Specialist and complimented the parent on being conscientious about selecting appropriate materials for his four year old child. The parent felt that his concerns had been address by the School Library Media Specialist and the Principal and chose not to pursue the challenge further by submitting a formal complaint.

Conclusion:

And they all lived happily ever after because intellectual freedom was preserved.

Works Cited

"Awards." William Steig. 2008. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 10 July 2009
.

“Bill of Rights.” American Library Association. 23 Jan, 1996. 10 July 2009

<http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/statementsif/librarybillrights.cfm.>

“Censorship in the Schools.” American Library Association. 2009. 10 July 2009

<http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/ifissues/censorshipschools.cfm.>

"Code of Ethics." American Library Association. 22 Jan. 2008. 10 July 2009
.

“Freedom to Read.” American Library Association. 30 June 2004. 11 July 2009

.

“Freedom to View.” American Library Association. 10 Jan. 1990. 11 July 2009 <http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/ftvstatement/freedomviewstatement.cfm.>

Hopkins, Dianne McAfee. "School Library Media Centers and Intellectual Freedom."
American Library Association. 2009. 10 July 2009 .

Steig, William. The Amazing Bone. Toronto: Collins Publishers, 1976.