Graphic novel about King Tut is latest book to be challenged in SC school district

A children’s book has survived the latest challenge from a parent in a Midlands school district.

Lexington-Richland 5 will return “The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb” to school library shelves after a review committee gave the graphic novel the green light on Tuesday.

The book had been removed from shelves last month after a parent filed a complaint that some material in the story was inappropriate for young readers.

“The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb” by Michael Burgan is part of a graphic history series for young readers from Capstone Publishing, telling the story of Howard Carter’s discovery of the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1922. The 32-page book is intended for readers between the ages of 8 and 14, according to the book’s Amazon page.

The eight-person review committee — made up of parents, teachers and librarians — read the book and voted unanimously that it was appropriate for readers in the relevant grades.

Committee members cited positive reviews of the book by educators, including one in the School Library Journal that said the book offers “high-interest subject matter in a graphic-novel format.”

“Likely to be snatched up by young and reluctant readers, these titles work as hooks to lead to more in-depth information or as fun and interesting reads,” the School Library Journal says.

District libraries supervisor Carol Lunsford said the book, which was published in 2005, likely would have circulated out of library collections after nearly 20 years, but the fact it was still available at three elementary schools in the district testified to how frequently it was still being checked out.

The complaint was specifically concerned about references to and depictions of suicide in “King Tut’s Tomb.” The committee members agreed it was a topic that could disturb younger readers, but agreed the overall tone of the story is meant to be “scary” and allow younger readers to engage with more frightening topics.

They said children are also good at avoiding material they don’t want to read. One librarian on the panel said she had a student return a book about sea turtles because they were grossed out by a picture of a sea turtle laying eggs.

District Superintendent Akil Ross told the committee after the vote that the book would be returned to school shelves immediately.

The parent can still appeal the decision to the full school board. In December, the Lexington-Richland 5 school board voted to overrule a previous review committee’s recommendation that the fantasy novel “A Court of Mist and Fury” remain available in schools. The board voted 5-2 to remove “Mist and Fury” and four other books in the series by Sarah J. Maas, a decision that drew pushback from the district’s English teachers.

Last year, another review committee in Lexington-Richland 5 decided to keep the children’s book “Black is a Rainbow Color” on its shelves over objections to racial themes in the book. In the neighboring Lexington 2 district, at least 17 books have been removed from schools so far this year.

In the future, such decisions may be taken out of the hands of local teachers and community members. Last week, the State Board of Education advanced a proposal by S.C. Superintendent Ellen Weaver that would create statewide standards for reading material in schools. If approved by the state Legislature, that would mean future book challenges would be decided by a committee of the state board — and if upheld, the decision could remove the challenged book from every school in South Carolina.