Bridge to Terabithia
Date: 1993
Region: North America
Subject: Profanity
Medium: Literature
Artist: Katherine Paterson
Confronting Bodies: Parents of students and district board of education
Dates of Action: 1993
Location: Oskaloosa, Kansas
Description of Artwork: Bridge to Terabithia is a Newbury-Award winning novel covering the friendship between Jesse and Leslie. As part of their friendship, they develop their own fantasy world, Terabithia. In the tragic conclusion, Leslie accidentally dies in a creek.
The Incident: Parents raised concerns regarding the appropriateness of Bridge to Terabithia as a curriculum book, taking issue with the use of obscenities. The Oskaloosa school district board of education enacted policy changes.
Results of Incident: Teachers are now required to examine and tally the amount of profanities used in the books. They have to send a list of what profanities are used and how frequently they are used in a letter home to parents. Parents have to provide written permission for their child to read the book in the classroom.
Source:Sova, Dawn B. Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds. New York, Facts on File: 2006. http://www.amazon.com/Literature-Suppressed-Social-Grounds-Banned/dp/0816062714/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
