Members of the Sumner County School Board voted to keep the book “Hey, Kiddo” on library shelves Tuesday after its own author sent a video message to support it.
“Hey, Kiddo” is the graphic memoir detailing author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s life growing up in a family grappling with addiction.
An Ellis Middle School parent filed a request to have the book taken off the library shelves after their sixth-grade child checked out the book. The parent filed the challenge claiming “Hey, Kiddo” contained inappropriate language and depictions of mature content.
The book was initially restricted for eighth-graders, however a system failure allowed the sixth-grade student to check it out.
“I’m sorry, but no child, no matter what their age, should be exposed to this content. Especially from a school library. If a student in this school system went up to any student, teacher, or staff member of any school in our county and said any of these words or spoke this way to anyone in this manner, they would immediately be disciplined, likely put into detention, or possibly suspended. Yet students are free to check it out and read it. That is completely unacceptable,” wrote the parent in a statement to the district.
In deciding to keep the book on school shelves, board members followed the recommendation of the district’s review committee that voted in support due to its literary value, with the restriction that it remains inaccessible to students below the eighth-grade, librarians keep it behind the circulation desk, and the book receives a sticker indicating it contains sensitive topics.
“While the language is rough, the majority found the overall message and value of the book outweighed the use of cursing. Persevering in the face of adversity is a powerful lesson to all students, regardless of their background,” wrote members of the committee.
In his video message, Krosoczka explained the importance of his book, saying he felt he needed to write it because of how many young people are dealing with similar situations.
“When I first shared my story via a TED Talk, in which I talked about dealing with my mother’s addiction to heroin and not knowing who my father was and the fact that my grandparents who raised me were alcoholics, that talk went viral…And the reason why that topic went viral is because so many people identified with the story. And every single school I would visit, it wouldn’t matter if I was in a red state or a blue state, suburban, urban, or rural area, it wouldn’t matter if I was in a private or public school, I would meet so many young people who would say to me, I saw your TED Talk and it made me feel less alone,” said Krosoczka. “I didn’t write ‘Hey, Kiddo’ to be salacious. I wrote ‘Hey, Kiddo’ to be honest. Because there are difficult truths in our books because there are difficult truths out there in the world.”
“Hey, Kiddo” also received support from the members of the Sumner County community who agreed with its relevance and supported keeping the book restricted to eighth-grade and above.
“Trust your librarians, trust your people because this is really, really good,” said retired principal Patricia Smith.
Ellis Middle School librarian Amy Bratcher made the initial decision to purchase the book for the school’s library collection. She told the board it’s the job of the librarian to have books that are inclusive of the entire school community.
“In the last 20 years of teaching in Sumner County, I have come to realize that it does not matter where one resides in the county. It doesn’t matter how much money one has in their bank account or what religion is or isn’t practiced or who parents vote for. Our students are living the lives that are present in ‘Hey, Kiddo,’” said Bratcher.
Board member Andy Lacy was the sole member of the body to vote against the book. Lacy echoed the parent’s complaint about the language, along with saying he found the book inappropriate for schools and the classroom.
“I don’t agree with the appropriateness of the book, and I found it funny that the author – when he was speaking – he said, if you say that this book is inappropriate, you’re saying he’s inappropriate. I don’t think he’s inappropriate, I think the way he wrote the book is inappropriate. If I wrote a book about my life, I would (write) the clean version,” said Lacy.
