A problem book

My Buddy metaphorically rolled his eyes over this story in the DNT about parents who wish to remove a young adult book by author Sherman Alexie from eighth grade assignments. His comment: “The **** with which school boards have to deal.”

Yup. I haven’t had to deal with a book banning since 1996, the year I was first elected to the School Board. (We left it, “War Comes to Willie Freeman,” in the library.) At issue this time is the book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.”

Written by Sherman Alexie in 2007, the young adult novel has been the subject of parental criticism and the target of school bans in other districts, but has also been the winner of numerous awards and the recipient of praise by many educators and parents. I read it to Claudia a couple years ago and found it very honest, funny and engaging.

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