FL School Board Bans Children’s Book About Babies

Panama City’s NBC News affiliate reports:

Dozens of books were recently taken off Walton County schools library shelves, leading to concern on social media and during the school board meeting Tuesday. District officials confirmed 58 were removed from libraries throughout all schools.

“I did it for just a welfare of all involved, including our constituents, our teachers, and our students. I’ll continue to do those things and perhaps add some,” Walton County School Superintendent A. Russell Hughes [photo] said.

The Washington Post reports:

Since its publication in 2001, “Everywhere Babies” — a whimsical, lyrical ode to infancy, illustrated by Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Marla Frazee — has become a staple of family bookshelves, a common recommendation in new parent groups, and a celebrated title on Best Books lists.

But for the first time in its history, “Everywhere Babies” was featured this week on an entirely different kind of list: The book was among dozens of works recently banned from public school libraries in Walton County, Fla.

A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Education referred questions to Walton County, noting that “individual school districts are responsible for making these decisions,” and did not respond to follow-up questions.

The author of “Everywhere Babies” tells the Washington Post that she believes her book was banned due to a single drawing of a man with his arm on another man’s shoulder. There are no explicitly LGBTQ persons depicted in the book.

“Everywhere Babies” — a whimsical, lyrical ode to infancy — has become a staple of family bookshelves since its publication in 2001.

The book is among dozens of works recently banned from public school libraries in Walton County, Fla. https://t.co/HXGBIVqD57

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 22, 2022