Censorship in an Elementary Library

“Run run run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man…” So goes the classic tale of the little Gingerbread Man running from everyone who desires to eat him. Though this little cookie escapes an old woman, a cow, and a cat, he is outsmarted by the fox and is eventually eaten. The same scenario occurs in the elementary library at the American School of Kuwait. Our Gingerbread Man is devoured by a cunning fox that is formally known as the Ministry of Education. Why? Because we cannot have our little children looking at a picture book that shows the backside of a cookie. Yes, one page shows the Gingerbread Man running off into the distance and you can see his backside. This is not allowed in our library. The Ministry has spoken, and so it must be done.

Curious about what other books are banned? At the US Embassy the novels Green Eggs and Ham and Charlotte’s Web are banned because they discuss swine. In the library at ASK we have kept Green Eggs and Ham on the shelf, but only because we have changed every mention of ham to lamb. Having a Dr Seuss party and eating green eggs and lamb just isn’t quite the same.

Though there is a long list of books that are supposed to be banned in our library, it is hard to remove old favorites and deprive children of the books. Some books we simply delete from the system and keep for teachers in the back room. Others we temporarily remove when the Ministry comes to inspect our shelves. The tale The Giver was supposed to be cleaned off our shelf. We deleted all but one copy, left to be found only be the curious child. Though it is a favorite, we are not permitted to recommend it to the children, only to smile when a student’s parent suggests them to check it out.

When planning our story time schedule we compare it with the dates the Ministry has booked to inspect our library. Once a month someone is sent from the Ministry to observe and peruse the shelves. The story Ain’t Gonna Paint No More is one of the children’s favorites but we had to wait a week to read it because we did not want to be telling the story of a little boy who runs around painting his naked body in front of the Ministry of Education. On the last page of the book the children following the rhyme scheme know that he is going to paint his bottom next and will shout out “butt!” Having someone from the Ministry watching while we read this book would not be a good scenario.

Before someone from the Ministry comes we are supposed to assist them and pull books from the shelves that we think should be banned. After only three weeks of working in the library I was tasked with finding fifteen books that we could do without. The grueling process killed me as I walked the shelves knowing which picture books I should pull because they mention a bodily function, or show a child’s bottom. Instead, I sat in the Dewey’s, pulling book after book on the Middle East. The one thing the Ministry hates the most is when the Arabian Gulf is labeled the Persian Gulf. Several of our older books have this grievous mistake, and I managed to pull them on account of that. When I found that I still needed more books to ban I flipped through textbooks on Egyptian gods and goddesses, Native Americans, African tribes, anything that might show someone naked. Out of curiosity I looked to see if we had any texts on “Where Babies Come From” or on the human body. Alas, these were nowhere to be found. The human reproductive system is also skipped in High School science, leaving children to discover for themselves. The children are raised by their nannies, and I doubt they are taught about the human body by their nannies who can sometimes barely speak English. If parents don’t teach their children, if the schools aren’t allowed to, and if educational books are banned, how do we expect the children to learn?

When the lady sent by the Ministry of Education began to flip through the books we had set aside for her to inspect she questioned the librarian as to why some of these books were old? She wanted to inspect the new books that had been added to our collection. Miss Weathers replied that because there had been a transition of librarians and she had been re-sorting the shelves some of the old books must have been missed in being censored. The lady allowed us to keep our textbooks on Egyptian gods and goddesses, and the Native Americans so long as I agreed to draw clothing onto all of the naked people. Not a bad comprise in my opinion. She also banned some books on ghosts and Dr Dog by Babette Cole because the children scratch their bums, and the house explodes due to the grandfather’s farts. We knew that she wasn’t pleased by our selection, but each text was justified and reported to the Ministry of Education. But our troubles are never ending, as soon as we solve one case we must prepare for the next check within a couple weeks, and you never know who they will send and if they will use our books, or peruse the shelves themselves.

Working at the American School of Kuwait has been interesting. I learned that universally children are still appealed by Captain Underpants, Diaper Baby, and Dear Dumb Diary. My current challenge is to go beyond scanning the barcodes of books as children pass through and guide them towards Little House on the Prarie, Harry Potter, The Boxcar Children, Ella Enchanted, and My Side of the Mountain. The children appear to be enjoying my recommendations and are coming back telling me of the adventures they had. One girl wanted to buy the rest of a series, and it took a while to explain that the novels were not sold anywhere in Kuwait. Bookstores are few and far between with a very limited selection of novels. Our library is a great achievement for ASK, as it is often the only place children will ever find these books. I personally am an avid reader and miss the enormous bookstores in Western Countries. My library is Amazon.com, without it I could hardly survive.

Teaching at ASK has been a challenge and a learning experience. I love every single day of work, because not only do I get to teach and help hundreds of children, I also get to learn from them. When reading Knuffle Bunny to my kindergarteners it was a bit of a challenge to get them to relate to the child in the novel. In the story a little girl has one precious stuffed animal and becomes terribly upset when she leaves it at the Laundromat. Before reading the novel I asked the children if they had a favorite stuffed animal. Well, how can they pick a favorite when they have “every single stuffed animal.” These privileged children have everything they wanted, and couldn’t understand the idea of one toy being so important to this little girl. As we read the book, I had to stop myself from asking questions that corresponded with the pictures, like “do you help your parent’s with the laundry?” Of course these children didn’t help their parents with the laundry! These children’s parents have probably never even done a load of laundry. They have maids, nannies, cooks and drivers, the children hardly knew what a laundry machine was.

It is hard for teachers to keep their children in school due to the frequent and random trips that families take through Europe. Families will frequently take their young children out of school for months to go on a cruise. This is a challenge in keeping track of library books, and of course is a detriment to the child’s education. One day we saw a girl who hasn’t been in school for months. I asked her where she had been, had she been sick, gone on vacation? “No Miss Molly. My daddy’s been staying with his other wives. Tonight he’s coming home to my mamma, so she sent me to school to make him happy.”Of course, why didn’t I think of that option?

A difficulty we encounter is the fact that some Kuwaitis feel entitled. I have had parents come in to check out books and attempt to waltz out without checking any books out. We have to force them to create an account, and apologize that they can only check out 10 books. Now, parents taking an interest in their child’s education are often rare, but it does happen. One little boy desperately needs tutoring to bring his first grade reading level up the equivalent of his third grade peers. Each week I spent a grueling fifteen minutes hunting with him for a good book that he can read. I asked him if he reads with his parents or his nanny at home, “No Miss Molly. They are busy. My nanny, she sits with me when I try, but she can’t read.” My heart breaks with stories like these, but what can we do? Luckily teachers can tell the principal who needs tutoring, and he frequently contacts parents who are willing to fork over any amount of cash for their child’s education. It is hard to understand, they will pay over $50 per hour for someone to tutor their child when they could simply skip a couple hours of sitting at Starbucks with friends and devote it to their child.

Living in the Middle East has been an experience I will never forget. Working overseas has made me so appreciative of all of the freedoms I have in the States. Fond memories of having green eggs and ham with my first grade class become more valuable; reading Charlotte’s Web with my third grade class is now regarded as a right and freedom. So what will I do next? I will keep putting my favorite children’s books on the display shelf for them to be quickly consumed by parents and children, and I will continue hiding classics that have no justifiable reason to be banned from my library.