Children's publishing company Scholastic says that it will include a book that it previously banned from its book fairs over a set of lesbian characters.
Lauren Myracle, author of the four-book series Luv Ya Bunches, told School Library Journal last week that she was asked by the publisher to tone down some mildly offensive language, and to consider swapping out the lesbian mothers of a character for a set of heterosexual parents.
Myracle said she agreed to remove the language, but not the moms. However, she said her decision caused her book to be kept away from elementary school book fairs. Scholastic said in response that it would continue to keep the books in its catalog.
As a result a round of petitioning was launched on Change.org, which garnered more than 4,000 signatures as of Wednesday morning.
However, a statement posted on Scholastic's blog says that the publisher "does not censor books" and that it is committed to being fair in its book selection.
"Having completed our review of Luv Ya Bunches, Scholastic Book Fairs will carry the title in our spring fairs for middle school," the statement read. "Scholastic is proud of our long history of providing books that will appeal to the wide range of interests and reading abilities of children in the many diverse cultures and communities we serve. Luv Ya Bunches is just one example."
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