FLORENCE, Ky. — The Boone County Board of Education unanimously voted against banning a book from an elementary school library after one parent claimed it promotes pedophilia and normalizes girls kissing.
"Endlessly Ever After" is a choose-your-own-adventure picture book. The authors ask the reader to serve as a sort of “Little Red Riding Hood,” while weaving through other classic fairytales.
A parent petitioned for its removal from Longbranch Elementary School, but the complaint was rejected. That parent then appealed to the school board.
“Obviously, you think, pedophilia,” said Amy Yates, who filed the complaint. “It's a strong word to say, but it's true.”
Yates took issue with a page in the book in which the reader stumbles upon a “gentle maiden” who is “sleeping like a stone.” The reader is asked whether they will “kiss some strange sleeping woman in a frozen castle” or not, calling back to the tale of Sleeping Beauty.
In her complaint, Yates said the scene implies “it is approving for a little girl or even a teenager, which is also a minor, to kiss a grown woman who is a stranger.” She said it suggests “pedophilia is acceptable.” The exact age of the “gentle maiden” is not clear.
“There's other parents out there that don't have a clue that their children are checking this out and reading it,” Yates said.
In an email with school officials, Yates notes “there is intent to normalize a girl kissing another girl for sexual purposes.”
The school rejected an initial review of her complaint. A committee found that the kiss was “not over-sexualized in any way” and follows the story of Sleeping Beauty.
“It is important to note that, if it is determined that this kiss between ‘Rosie’ and ‘Sleeping Beauty’ is deemed harmful to minors, every book in the library that in any way references or depicts a kiss between characters would likewise need to be removed from circulation,” wrote principal Stephanie Stambaugh in her response to the complaint. “This could amount to hundreds of books being removed from the LBES (Longbranch Elementary School) library.”
Yates was offered an opportunity to prevent her child from checking out books from this author in the future. She appealed the decision to the school board, who then discussed the topic at a packed meeting Thursday night.
Antoine Smith-Rouse sits on the site-based decision-making council that rejected her initial complaint. He said they found nothing wrong with the book.
"(We) all agree that the kiss was not illustrated, was not sexualized, was not anything that was inappropriate to be at the library," said Smith-Rouse, who has nine children with his partner.
A librarian said she specifically ordered the book because it was nominated for a Kentucky Bluegrass Award for grades three to five.
Several parents said they support the school’s inclusion of the book in its library.
“It can be a slippery slope if we start nitpicking every single, tiny little thing,” said district parent Jessica Searcy.
Searcy said her children had read the book, and the kissing did not bother them.
"They said 'Do you know how many fairytales have sleeping princesses that need to be kissed to be woken up?'" Searcy said.
Amber Hoffman, a district parent and member of the political nonprofit Northern Kentucky Initiative, is also in support of keeping the book.
“It's crazy to me,” she said. “And simultaneously attacking an entire group of children.”
The effort is personal for Hoffman. Her daughter is pansexual.
“I'm not asking for people to put this kind of stuff into the curriculum,” she said. “I’m asking for you to leave it available as a resource in the elementary school libraries for children like mine that need and want that representation.”
Yates said after the meeting she was disappointed by the decision, saying it felt like the board made its decision before the meeting started. She said as of right now, she's unsure if there are any other ways she can fight the decision.
"I take one step at a time and if there's another avenue, then we look at that other avenue," said Yates.
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