School library bans children's bookVICTORIA - Battle of the bazoongas? Or merely a tempest in a D-Cup?
A popular Victoria children's author is crying censorship after a southwestern Saskatchewan school banned her novel, Trouble on Tarragon Island.
At issue is the book's reference to "bazoongas" as a slang word for breasts. The librarian who pulled the novel at Elizabeth School in Kindersley also objected to a mention of "saggy" breasts and a description of a bullying incident.
"I certainly view this as censorship," said Nikki Tate, 45, an award-winning writer of novels for young people. "I deliberately stayed away from crude language."
Wayne Parohl, principal of the school before retiring a few weeks ago, said he does not view the situation as censorship, adding the librarian deemed it inappropriate for younger readers at the school, spanning kindergarten to Grade 7. The librarian could not be reached for comment.
Trouble on Tarragon Island has sold almost 3,000 copies since its 2005 release and is nominated for three book awards. Other school libraries across North America have carried it without complaint.
The book is about a girl who is horrified when her grandmother joins Ladies of the Forest, a radical protest group aiming to save old-growth trees.
Their lobbying efforts include posing for semi-nude photos that appear in a calendar. These images attract taunts from schoolboys who use the word "bazoongas."
The heroine, Heather Blake, thinks: "What they say about my grandmother is true. She does have generous bazoongas, and all of Tarragon Island has seen them."
This from the Edmonton Journal.
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