Boone County school board decides: 'Pedophilia' or classic princess lore in book?

Florence – "Little Red Riding Hood." "The Three Little Pigs." "Hansel and Gretel." The popular book "Endlessly Ever After" retells the classics through the eyes of an 8-year-old girl who is winding her way through those fairy tales. But the book's twist on "Sleeping Beauty" caused one parent in Boone County to try to get it removed from shelves.

Amy Yates' fourth-grade daughter brought the book home from the Longbranch Elementary School library. After reading it at bedtime, Yates said she was concerned about the suggestion "that pedophilia is acceptable." She used a process outlined in a new Kentucky state law to challenge the book with the Boone County Board of Education in an appeals process after the school had already declined to pull the book from its shelves.

The law was passed by the General Assembly last year amid culture wars that are playing out on school boards about issues that range from diversity initiatives to LGBTQ rights.

Dozens of people – librarians, students, and parents – attended the Boone County Board of Education meeting Thursday night to stick up for the book. Many implied the book was being challenged because the protagonist Rosie kisses a princess under a sleeping spell in a tower to wake her up. Both Rosie and the princess are female.

Other than Yates, nobody at the meeting spoke in favor of banning the book.

In a unanimous decision with nearly no commentary, all five members of the Boone County Board of Education decided to keep the book on the shelves. That includes Cindy Young, the former vice president of the Boone County Moms for Liberty group, which is usually in favor of book bans in schools.

She told The Enquirer she resigned from the controversial group after its President Karen Strayer was seen taking photos with members of the Proud Boys in Frankfort and flashing what appeared to be a white power symbol. Strayer was removed from her position by the national Moms for Liberty organization, along with the Campbell County chapter president Mirna Eads.

But the controversies over books and the outrage bans spark in communities are not over –  more challenges in local school districts could pop up at any time.

Why did Yates say the book is pedophilic?

Laurel Snyder's book "Endlessly Ever After" is a choose-your-own-adventure book where the main character Rosie plays the role of what's implied to be Little Red Riding Hood. The reader picks the path Rosie follows as she navigates her way through several classic fairy tales.

When Rosie runs into a sleeping princess in a tower, there's an option to kiss the princess, who is under a spell, to wake her up. The illustrations do not depict Rosie kissing the princess.

Yates, of Union, said if an 8-year-old little girl and an adult were caught kissing, under the law, that would be considered pedophilia.

"When you look at this book, it's no different," Yates told The Enquirer after the school board voted. "They're trying to rewrite it in a cute little way, in a fairy tale, to make it look like it's okay when it's not."

While the book doesn't mention the princess' age, it refers to her as both a woman and, on a different page, a kid.

What did book supporters say?

Antoine Smith-Rouse, of Burlington, has nine children, seven of whom are living at home and attending Boone County Schools. He sits on the School-Based Decision Making council, which sets policies for the school district.

"There's nothing inappropriate about the book. There is nothing sexualized about the book. It is a book that just happens to mention two girls kissing," he said.

He said using the new law, formerly SB 5, to ban "Endlessly Ever After" would have opened a floodgate of other book challenges in the district.

Shawn Moll, of Hebron, is also a member of the council and agreed with Smith-Rouse, saying she read the story with her 6-year-old daughter.

"There are a lot of inferences that the parent who filed the complaint would have had to have made to feel this book is inappropriate," she said.

Book banning on the rise

Data compiled by the American Library Association shows book banning is becoming more popular throughout the country.

In 2021, there were at least 729 books challenged in the country. In 2022, that number nearly doubled, according to a report by the organization, which describes its data as a "snapshot" of book censorship that does not include all the books challenged in the country.

In the first eight months of 2023, there were at least 45 books challenged in Kentucky. In 2022, there were at least 70 books challenged in the state.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Boone County school board does not ban book "Endlessly Ever After"