Texas school district pulls dozens of ‘challenged’ books from libraries – including ‘Gender Queer’ and the Bible

A North Texas school district is temporarily pulling dozens of books off library shelves ahead of the first day of classes.

The ban was announced Tuesday by Jennifer Price, director of curriculum and instruction at Keller Independent School District.

“Attached is a list of all books that were challenged last year. By the end of today, I need all books pulled from the library and classrooms. Please collect these books and store them in a location (book room, office, etc),” Price said in an email sent to principals.

Keller Independent School District pulls challenged books from school shelves, including "Gender Queer." (Rick Bowmer/)

“Once this has been completed, please email me a confirmation. We need to ensure this action is taken by the end of the day. I apologize for the late request,” she added.

Among the 41 books singled out, several of them are LGBTQ-related — including “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” George M. Johnson’s collection of essays about growing up Black and queer; “Fun Home,” Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel that was adapted into the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name in 2015; and “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” an award-winning graphic novel written by Maia Kobabe, a nonbinary and queer author and illustrator from California.

All versions of the Bible, a graphic adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary, as well as Toni Morrison’s novel “The Bluest Eye” were also ordered to be taken off the shelves.

All titles were challenged through the district’s complaint process, which allows parents and school employees to object if they believed that a book is “inappropriate for all students.”

A committee later considers whether the books should be permanently removed, or if they should go back to shelves.

“All of the books included in Tuesday’s email have been included on Keller ISD’s Book Challenge list over the past year. Books that meet the new guidelines will be returned to the libraries as soon as it is confirmed they comply with the new policy,” the district said in a statement later on Tuesday.

According to the Texas Tribune, some local residents were surprised by the inclusion of a few books on the list, because a committee made up of members of the public had already recommended that some of the titles — including “The Bluest Eye” and “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation” — remained in libraries.

But according to a Keller ISD spokesperson, the books will have to be reviewed again after three new conservative school board members were elected to the district’s board of trustees. Last week, the seven-member board unanimously approved a new policy for acquiring and reviewing books.

According to the American Library Association, there were more than 1,600 individual book challenges or removals last year. Most of them were about Black or LGBTQ people — or written by Black or LGBTQ authors.

Half of the top 10 most challenged books had LGBTQ content. The No. 1 spot went to “Gender Queer: A Memoir.”