BOARD REJECTS BOOK BEEF

By Ron McGee

A controversial book about a child whose father is a homosexual with AIDS will continue to be offered in Anchorage schools, despite an Eagle River couple's efforts to have it removed. The Anchorage School Board voted unanimously to keep the book "Earthshine" on school library shelves.

The board also decided that the Young Readers Choice Program, a voluntary program that included the book on the reading list, will continue, but parents will begin to receive a synopsis of the 12 books children are encouraged to read. The program is offered in some elementary and middle schools.

Lisa and David Brimberry, parents of an Alpenglow Elementary School fourth-grader, asked that the book be removed from all Anchorage public school libraries because it contains profanity and deals with subjects like homosexuality, abortion and children running away from home. They also asked that the young readers' program be discontinued because younger elementary students are not mature enough to read books like "earthshine."

David Brimberry acknowledged the award winning book is well written. "The problem is that children grasp the written word as if it's truth," he said.

Lisa Brimberry said fourth-and fifth-graders probably don't have the knowledge to deal with the book objectively. Yet the readers' program encourages them to read it, she said. "This is not about censorship, but about the age of people who can read it," Lisa Brimberry told the board.

Several parents and school district librarians encouraged board members to continue the readers' program and keep "Earthshine." Lynn Halquist, the librarian at Klatt Elementary, said the book, which is on the shelves in 23 Anchorage school libraries, is "one of the richest books I've read in children's literature." It deals with a topic, like it or not, that is part of our lives, Halquist told the board. "Literature is not supposed to make us feel comfortable," she said.

School Board member Lorraine Ferrell asked the board to consider removing "Earthshine" from elementary school libraries. She believes children of that age group are too young for its contents. Her motion failed 4-3.