Girl, Stolen

Revision as of 18:33, 22 November 2013 by Jennifer Lu (talk | contribs)


Artist: April Henry

Year: 2013

Date of Action: November 2013

Region: North America

Location: Lake Fenton School District in Michigan

Subject: Violence, Youth

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 ben 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 lease bit, it is to be removed from the classroom.

Source:
http://www.tctimes.com/news/school-pulls-inappropriate-book/article_91a017c8-4965-11e3-ab00-001a4bcf887a.html