Girl, Stolen
Artist: April Henry
Year: 2013
Date of Action: November 2013
Region: North America
Location: Lake Fenton School District in Michigan
Medium: Literature
Confronting Bodies: Parents of Lake Fenton School district
Description of Artwork: The grade school novel Girl, Stolen geared for students in third, fourth, and fifth grade is written by April Henry and is a high-stakes crime thriller about how an ordinary theft goes horribly wrong. The premise of the book is the main character falls asleep in her mother's car, and when she wakes up, she realizes that she has been kidnapped.
The Incident: Parent William Bird was shocked and upset that his nine year old daughter was reading "Girl, Stolen," a troubling thriller, as one of the requirements to complete a reading goal for her fourth grade class. Disturbed, Bird went to speak with the teacher and the principal, and they both agreed that the book should not be on the Accelerated Reading list at the school, as it was too supposedly inappropriate.
Results of Incident: The book has been pulled from the classroom shelf, and the principal, Kathleen Conover, called an emergency meeting to instruct the school staff to be more thorough in reviewing books for the school classrooms. If there is any book that seems inappropriate in the least bit, it is to be removed from the classroom.