Eleanor & Park

EDIT PAGE

Artist: Rainbow Rowell

Year: 2013

Date of Action: May 2017

Region: North America

Location: McArthur, Ohio

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion, Religion

Medium: Literature

Confronting Bodies: Vinton County High School, McArthur, Ohio

Description of Artwork: Eleanor & Park is award-winning young adult novel by Rainbow Rowell that is featured widely in English curricula and is critically praised for its acute exploration of themes such as love, race, bullying, body image, and abuse. It has occupied The New York Times bestseller list. While written about and for teens, the themes are universal. A frequently challenged book, it has been listed as no.10 on the American Library Association’s ‘Top Ten Challenged Books list.’

The Incident: Eleanor & Park was removed from a tenth-grade English curriculum following complaints. A parent of a student at Vinton County High School posted an out-of-context image of a passage from the book containing “foul language” on social media and issued a formal complaint about the book to the school. The school administration responded by cancelling English lessons that used the book, replacing it with a different novel.

Results of Incident: In a May 8, 2017 letter to the school administration, The National Coalition Against Censorship and 6 other organizations committed to defending kids’ right to read urged Vinton County High School to restore student access to Eleanor & Park. The letter was signed by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, National Council of Teachers of English, American Booksellers for Free Expression, Association of American Publishers, Authors Guild and PEN America. The case in ongoing.

Source:

NCAC Demands Ohio High School Restore Eleanor & Park to English Curriculum, BY NCAC, MAY 9, 2017

CBLDF Joins Defense of Eleanor & Park, May 9, 2017, By Betsy Gomez