Author of banned book which describes sex act between children says it was never meant for children

The author of a book that was pulled from US schools for its depiction of a sexual act between two 10-year-old boys has said it was never intended for young children.

Lawn Boy, a 2018 novel by Jonathan Evison, garnered national attention in 2021 after it was found in school libraries despite scenes labeled “pedophilic” by parents.

School districts in at least 12 states have pulled the book from libraries because of the controversial passages.

The passages included descriptions of a sexual encounter between two fourth grade boys at a church youth group meeting.

Evison told The Washington Post the book was never intended to be placed in school libraries.

His comments appeared in a Post article that said schools banned the book because “a mother mistakenly said the book depicted pedophilia.”

The article was in reference to comments by a Virginia mother who mistakenly said at a school board meeting that the book describes a sexual encounter between a man and a ten-year-old boy.

The Post reported that the incorrect comment ‘[spawned] pedophilia claims in nearly a dozen school districts’.

However, many parents were shocked by the lurid description of an encounter between two children, and some school districts pulled the book.

Brandi Burkman, 43, said at a school board meeting in Texas in September 2021: ‘What kind of diversity do you intend to teach my son with material like this? Who normalizes sexual acts between fourth graders?

I’ll tell you who. Pedophiles.

Brandi Burkman, 43, addressed a school board meeting in Texas in September 2021: “Who normalizes sexual acts between fourth graders? I’ll tell you who. Pedophiles

Burkman complained about Lawn Boy at a Leander Independent School District meeting

The Post reported that an analysis found the use of Lawn Boy in libraries to be a challenge in at least 35 school districts. Districts in 12 states removed the book.

Some 63 percent of those who later returned the books to the shelves, while at least four upheld the bans.

Some school districts may have selected the book for their libraries after it was awarded an award by the American Library Association in 2019 for its “special appeal to young adults.”

A synopsis of the book’s notes: “Lawn Boy is an important, entertaining, and thoroughly winning novel about class distinctions, overcoming cultural discrimination, and standing up for oneself.”

Evison has accepted that it could be interpreted as “too profane”, but insisted that the controversial passages were not intended to “glorify experience”.

He questioned whether some parents who complained “don’t like a non-cisgender, non-white, marginalized character trying to feel comfortable and find their place in the culture.”

“I think the ultimate goal of these people is that they want to maintain the status quo, and the best way to do that is to not get these stories told,” he said.

Evison also said that sales of the paperback in 2022 were double those of its first print run.

The Lawn Boy saga came amid a fierce debate in the United States over books in school libraries that touch on topics such as gender, critical race theory and sexuality. Lawn Boy was one of many to appear on ‘banned books’ lists.

Bruce Friedman, president of the Florida chapter of No Left Turn in Education, confronted school board members about the content of the books that are available in his son’s school system.

Lawn Boy was one of two books returned to library shelves in Virginia in November 2021 after being withdrawn following complaints from parents.

The other was Gender Queer: A Memoir, which includes photos of sexual activity between a boy and a man.

Fairfax County Public Schools leaders pulled the books for a formal review prompted by complaints that they contained obscene sexual material.

But committees of administrators, librarians, parents, and students who reviewed both determined they were appropriate for high school readers.

Last year, a parent in Florida singled out three books sitting on school library shelves that he said were inappropriate, including Alice Sebold’s 1999 memoir “Lucky,” documenting her rape as a college freshman. college and how it affected her.

The other two were ‘A Court of Silver Flames’ by Sarah J. Maas and ‘Triangles’ by Ellen Hopkins.

‘A Court of Silver Flames’ is a fantasy novel, while ‘Triangles’ is about three different middle-aged women navigating their love lives.

All three books contain graphic details of sexual encounters that vary in nature. Bruce Friedman, president of the Florida chapter of No Left Turn in Education, complained about the books.