Attack of the Black Rectangles

Juvenile fiction 

   In one enormously fortunate coincidence the minute after I finished reading Amy Sarig King's Attack of the Black Rectangles I picked up my smartphone to scan the NPR daily newsletter.  There was a piece by Ashley Hope Perez on the increasing censorship of children's and YA books in schools and libraries by conservative groups trying to regulate what children can read.  Her Out of Darkness, based on a 1937 school explosion that killed hundreds of kids in Texas, came out to critical acclaim.  Then after the 2020 election a movement to challenge and ban the books available to kids and teens in libraries and schools began picking up momentum.  Out of Darkness became a target of censors.  It has now been banned in at least 29 school districts!

     And it's by far not the only victim of our new children's literature witch hunt.  In 2021 there were 600% more challenges and removals than just the year before.  And this doesn't even count the "softer" forms of censorship such as not purchasing certain books to protect one's job or avoid controversy.

     Perez makes a point I hadn't realized.  Most censorship is done under claims of too sexual for the kids.  However, the vast majority of books with any sex or romance content are white, middle class, hetero, and CIS and get a free pass.  The books that are questioned and pulled are those that "center the experiences of marginalized peoples".

     Perez states that "Young people have the right to the resources and stories that help them mature, learn, and understand their world in all its diversity."  They also deserve to learn how certain groups are tromping all over this precious right and how we all can fight back against this vicious censorship.  Amy Sarig King's Attack of the Black Rectangles neatly introduces younger readers to this rapidly spreading crisis.  

     Mac, King's protagonist, lives in a town that tries to achieve perfection by legislating many aspects of citizens' lives.  Halloween trick or treating has been banned.  Junk food isn't sold in stores.  School dress codes are very strict for girls. Houses can only be painted white.

     One of the staunchest defenders of the rules is Laura Samuel Sett.  Unfortunately she's also Mac's sixth grade teacher.  And she's bringing her attitude to her day job.  Mac's lit circle is assigned Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic.  

     When they get their books Mac and his besties, Marci and Denis, notice that some phrases in their books are covered with black rectangles.  Someone is interfering with their right to read the whole story.

     The kids go to the principal, hoping that she will get them unmarked books and put rules in place to prevent this censorship from happening again.  Although she promises to look into the matter, they can tell that she isn't taking them seriously.  Of course their teacher is hoping they'll lose interest in "adult" matters.

     But they are even more determined to get justice.  Next step is the local school board.

     The censorship described in the book was based on a real life incident in an elementary school.  King has a message for young readers.

     " I want you to care about intellectual freedom--which is the right to read.  I'm pretty sure if you get this far in the book, you do care, and you're probably sick of being treated like someone who knows less than you know.  Good.  Keep it up.  My side of the deal is that I'll keep reminding adults that they need to listen to you more."

     Parents of elementary school kids, if you're looking for a modest priced gift to put under the tree, look no further.

On a purrrsonal note, when I was growing up in the 50s and 60s children's and teen literature was a white, middle class, CIS, heteronormative wasteland.  There was about as much diversity in your typical library as in the fictional suburban cul de sac where Dick, Jane, and Sally watched Spot run, run, run.  And sex was the domain of lurid paperbacks in which a "ruined" girl ended up in a home for unwed mothers or died from a back alley abortion.

     Over the years I've cheered every advance in diversity and inclusion in children's and YA literature.  It makes my blood boil to see groups so determined to undermine that hard earned progress.  As a reviewer I do my best to stand up for endangered books and their authors.

     Last Halloween I was at UMaine cosplaying as Cat in the Hat and carrying a sign that encouraged people to read banned books.  I was pleasantly surprised by how many groups of students talked to me about my sign and really engaged in thoughtful conversations.  

     So now I have an idea for the next Banned Books Week which will happen in Fall Semester 2023.  What if the university has student friendly activities for every day of that week.  What if we invite local high school students to some.  What if students can earn a tee shirt by reading banned books, attending events, and doing community service.

     That's what I'm going to try to pull off with help from a lot of people who deeply care about preserving our children's right to read. (Jules)

The colored lights are on the tree.  They are so pretty at night.  And there are a few ornaments up.  Of course I'm helping with decorating.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to authors of banned books and the librarians and teachers who fight for our children's right to read them.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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