Florida’s school district has decided to reintroduce a book from the Arthur series to its shelves after a single parent’s complaint was found to lack merit. The parent had voiced concerns that the book was “inappropriate” for children and could potentially harm their well-being.
The Clay County School District Oversight Committee ruled on Tuesday that the book titled “Arthur’s Birthday” did not violate any state school board regulations. Consequently, the book will remain accessible in the district’s libraries. Terri Dennis, the spokesperson for the Clay County School District, confirmed this decision in an email to The Daily Beast on Wednesday morning. The email also included an updated list detailing the status of all 45 books that had been challenged in anticipation of the upcoming 2023-24 school year.
Out of these 45 challenged books, a total of 22 will be withdrawn from library shelves. This includes titles such as “Carrie” by Stephen King, “Sophie’s Choice” by William Styron, and “21 Proms” by David Levithan. “Arthur’s Birthday,” which revolves around the beloved aardvark character with a longstanding PBS cartoon series, tells the story of Arthur finding a creative solution to celebrating his birthday on the same day as one of his classmates. The story even lightly touches upon a game of “Spin the Bottle.”
However, not everyone held a positive opinion of this children’s book centered on problem-solving. Local conservative activist Bruce Friedman was responsible for submitting a challenge to “Arthur’s Birthday” in July, urging the district to safeguard children. In bold capital letters on the challenge form, Friedman expressed that discussing “Spin the Bottle” with elementary school children was not appropriate and demanded action to rectify the situation. This resulted in a heated debate on social media, leaving many perplexed as to why an animated aardvark could become a subject of contention.
Some social media users expressed disbelief at the situation. “Now they are concerned about an aardvark?” exclaimed a Twitter user, now identified as X. “What the actual heck!” Another individual chimed in, saying, “This is unbelievable. If a children’s book ‘damages your kid’s soul,’ you’ve clearly failed as a parent.”
In a somewhat satirical tone, another user tweeted, “Kindly keep me in your prayers, for my soul has suffered ‘damage’ due to the supposedly ‘Satanic’ children’s book, ‘Arthur’s Birthday.’ Since reading it, even food doesn’t taste the same. I’ve sought solace in the church during this challenging period. Lord, grant me strength…”
Friedman, who had previously boasted about compiling a list of more than 3,600 books featuring what he deemed “concerning content,” is believed to be responsible for initiating 95 percent of the book challenges in Clay County. As of Wednesday, he had not responded to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
