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May 19, 2012

The schoolboard of the Annville-Cleona School District (midway between Palmyra and Lebanon, Pennsylvania) voted 8-0 to remove the book The Dirty Cowboy from its elementary school libraries. "The book received numerous awards, including the International Reading Association award in 2004, the Parents Choice Gold Medal, and the Bulletin Blue Ribbon from the Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books." It's about a cowboy who entrusts his clothes to his dog while he takes his annual bath in the river. His dog doesn't recognize him when he's clean and will not let him have his clothes back. Hilarity ensues, appropriately masked by birds, a boot, the dog's tail, and a cloud of dust. One pair of parents objected to the book saying that "Children may come to the conclusion that looking at nudity is OK, and therefore pornography is OK."

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 4-After finding 32 fleas in his hair and tumbleweeds in his chaps, a freckle-faced cowboy decides that it's time for his annual bath. He mounts his horse, calls for his old dog, and heads for El Rio. There he disrobes and commands his companion to guard his duds. After frolicking merrily with a bar of soap (the amusing illustrations show many views of the naked cowboy bathing, while still keeping a G rating), he emerges thoroughly scrubbed and puckered "like a prickly pear." The dog does not detect his owner's familiar "wild boar-like smell" and stubbornly refuses to relinquish the garments. A dust-stirring brawl ensues that leaves the man as dirty as when he started, ultimately restoring his usual aroma. Unfortunately, the togs do not survive the tussle, and the cowboy heads for home, "bare as a shorn sheep." Told in descriptive language that rolls off the tongue, this story makes the most of a humorous situation. Filled with the dusty reds and sundown bronzes of the New Mexico setting, the paintings have a gritty, sinewy look that matches the earthy tone of the tale. Clever touches abound, as the artwork offers framed close-ups of the cowboy's uninvited vermin, a map of his route to the river, and whirling views of the wrestling match. The hangdog expression on the pooch's face when he realizes his mistake is priceless. A fun look at life on the range.

From Booklist:

K-Gr. 2. A cowboy decides to take his yearly bath, so he heads to a nearby river, where he orders his scruffy dog to guard his clothes. When the cowboy returns from the river, he's so clean that the dog doesn't recognize him. The two get into an extended fracas, leaving the cowboy as filthy as ever and the clothes in tatters. Naked and dirty, the cowboy finally returns home, the dog trotting beside him. For some children, the appeal of this story is in the clever composition of the pictures that manages to conceal the cowboy's private bits. Rex's rich paintings add sparkle to the story's dramatic telling with the attention to detail and humor that may remind some grownups of Norman Rockwell's early work. A simple, slapstick tale that is sure to elicit some giggles.

The book has been around since 2003. There are 20 positive reader reviews of it on Amazon and only a single one-star review which comes from a reader in Orem, Utah.

Amazon says this book is recommended for 4-8 year olds. I don't think so. This book should only be sold in the "adult only" section of the bookstore. I wouldn't want any of my children reading this book, ever. It's books like this that get kids curious about what's "under the dust cloud", something which they can easily find out with one simple google search.

So I Googled 'what's "under the dust cloud"." I was shocked - shocked, I tell you. The top hit had to do with a tech meeting in India where they discussed COBOL and Microsoft! To make it worse, there are photos!

Here's a link to some of the illustrations in the book, provided by the publisher, MacMillan.

This week the schoolboard refused to reverse its decision.

Barbara Jones, director of the ALA [American Library Association] Office of Intellectual Freedom, wrote: "Like many books, it may not be right for every student at Cleona Elementary. But the school library has a responsibility to meet the needs of everyone in the school community — not just the most vocal, the most powerful, or even the majority."

"If a parent thinks a particular book is not suitable for their child, they should guide their children to other books. They should not be given the power to impose their beliefs or preferences on other people's children," Jones said.

Author Amy Timberlake responded:

"I think it's kind of silly," Timberlake said of the ban. "Norman Rockwell has more showing in his paintings by far than this."

"[The cowboy] is completely covered — nothing is showing, there's not even a hint of anything showing," she said. "Everyone takes their clothes off to take a bath. We all know how bathing happens."

Filed under Books,Naturism-Nudism | permalink | May 19, 2012 at 05:29 PM

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