Authors leave Bay Area school after officials censor book ban talk

"Two authors scheduled at a Bay Area school for a recent book tour left the event without presenting after a school official asked them to withhold parts of their material, the authors said. Joanna Ho and Caroline Kusin-Pritchard, the authors of children's picture book "The Day the Books Disappeared," said in a Wednesday Instagram post that the principal of San Ramon's Country Club Elementary School asked them to talk only about their book and refrain from speaking about " book bans or the types of books being banned, specifically books with queer representation.""

"According to a Wednesday statement shared with SFGATE from CJ Cammack, the San Ramon Valley Unified School District superintendent, the presentation was scheduled for the transitional kindergarten through third grade classes. Cammack said various principals at schools the authors already visited had expressed concerns about their presentation, saying it was "not suited" for the younger students. "Specifically, the book's message of kindness, empathy, and understanding was overshadowed by a presentation focused on book banning that extended beyond the developmental level of our youngest students," Cammack said. After learning about other principals' concerns, Cammack said the district staff asked the authors to modify their presentation when they arrived on campus. When they chose not to do so, Cammack said they "chose to leave.""

Two presenters scheduled to visit San Ramon's Country Club Elementary were asked by the principal to limit their remarks to their children's picture book and avoid discussing book bans or books with queer representation. School staff pulled the presenters aside as students waited in the library and then barred them from presenting after the presenters declined to modify their planned material. The district superintendent said the event was scheduled for transitional kindergarten through third grade and that other principals had raised concerns the presentation was not suited to younger students. District staff requested a modified presentation upon arrival; when the presenters did not modify it, they left campus. The district characterized the request as not intended to silence a specific topic.

Read at SFGATE