Children's Book Flagged , by Alabama Library Because, Author's Name is 'Gay'.<br />NBC reports that Alabama's public library system <br />flagged a children's book as being "potentially <br />explicit" due to the author's last name being "Gay.".<br />'Read Me a Story, Stella,' a picture book <br />by Marie-Louise Gay, is about a girl <br />teaching her younger brother how to read. .<br />The book is the seventh volume in a series <br />that has sold over 2 million copies and <br />has been translated into ten languages.<br />The Alabama Political Reporter first revealed that <br />the book was added to a list of literature to be <br />reviewed and potentially removed from the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library system.<br />According to the library system's public <br />relations director, the list was never intended <br />"as a directive to move or remove materials." .<br />The inclusion of the author’s <br />name was the result of a keyword <br />search to identify potentially <br />targeted subject areas. , Jay Hixon, Huntsville-Madison County Public <br />Library system’s public relations director, via NBC.<br />The review encompassed <br />a number of different factors. <br />The list was just a preliminary <br />step to identify materials <br />that might be challenged, Jay Hixon, Huntsville-Madison County Public <br />Library system’s public relations director, via NBC.<br />According to local news outlets, a majority of <br />the 246 books on the list included keywords <br />such as "lesbian," "gay," "gender" and "identity.".<br />On September 28, the library system said in a news <br />release that the book review had been stopped and all <br />of the books would be returned to their original locations.<br />Last month, a report by the American Library <br />Association found that book challenges have reached <br />a historic high, increasing by 20% since last year.
