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Grandmother Raises Stink over Super Diaper BabyThe Riverside (Calif.) Unified School District is reviewing The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby by Dav Pilkey in response to a complaint filed in May by the grandmother of a 2nd-grader. Pam Santi averred that she became aware of the book’s content and its inclusion in the John F. Kennedy Elementary School library after discovering that 7-year-old Taylond was sketching a picture of excrement because he was depicting the book’s villain, Deputy Doo-Doo. “It was disgusting,” Santi said in the June 3 Los Angeles Times. “He was drawing a piece of poop.”Part of Pilkey’s award-winning Captain Underpants series, The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, carries a tongue-in-cheek disclaimer from publisher Scholastic that urges offended readers to send Scholastic a self-addressed, stamped envelope “and we’ll send you more offensive stuff.” The series was listed as the sixth most frequently challenged title for 2002, according to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. Acknowledging that 7–10-year-olds have a particular fondness for bathroom humor, psychology professor Diane Halpern told the Times that children’s fixation with all things scatological helps them accept their bodily functions and reconcile the praise they received during potty training with social conventions against discussing toileting issues. Santi countered that, while she allows the “energetic and curious” Taylond to discuss such matters as needed, “There’s just no moral value to that poop character.” A materials review committee chaired by District Librarian Christine Allen began reviewing Santi’s request for reconsideration at an open meeting June 4. The group expects to make a decision by June 12. Posted June 9, 2003. |
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