Apprehensions over a lesbian couple in a children's book series has caused publisher and elementary school book fair organizer Scholastic to ban Lauren Myracle's latest tomes from its campus book sales.
The first installment of Luv Ya Bunches, a four-book series, was released on October 1. The books follow four friends who are all named after flowers but have nothing else in common, according to the book's description. One thing that particularly sets character Milla apart from the other girls is that her parents are a lesbian couple, an issue over which Scholastic and Myracle have been wrestling.
According to School Library Journal, in addition to Scholastic asking veteran young adult author Myracle to remove language like "geez," "crap," "sucks," and "oh my God," the publisher also asked her to make Milla's parents heterosexual. The author agreed to change the language but not Milla's moms.
"A child having same-sex parents is not offensive, in my mind, and shouldn't be 'cleaned up,'" she said in the article, adding, "Over 200,000 kids in America are raised by same-sex parents just like Milla. It's not an issue to clean up or hide away. In my opinion, it's not an 'issue' at all."
A Scholastic spokesperson says that the book will be available in the publisher's catalog, but not at its book fairs.
Change.org is running a petition urging Scholastic to carry the title at their school book fairs. As of Monday afternoon, the website had garnered 2,680 signatures toward its goal of 5,000.
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