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Controversial children’s novel allowed to remain in Toronto schools

Three weeks after a parent complaint prompted pro-Israeli groups and at least one school trustee to call for the banning of children’s novel The Shepherd’s Granddaughter, it seems that calmer minds have prevailed, with the Toronto District School Board opting to keep the book on library shelves. According to a report in the Toronto Star, the school board’s executive officer of student and community equity, Lloyd McKell, wrote in a letter to trustees that the novel, about a young Palestinian girl whose family is harassed by Israeli settlers, “does not cross the line into literature promoting hate or animosity towards others.” McKell went on to acknowledge that while the book is written from a “Palestinian-sympathetic point of view,” it can be used as a teaching tool to spark debate about the current Middle East conflict. From McKell’s letter to trustees:

The Shepherd’s Granddaughter contains several themes for creative discussions in our classrooms, such as multigenerational families and relationships; aging; experiencing loss; influences of religion and faith; gender role, and gender stereotypes; effects of family separation through emigration; the value of education.… As well, this book can certainly be used to explore issues of bias and prejudice…

Last week, the book’s publisher, Patsy Aldana of Groundwood Books, called on the TDSB to stand up for freedom of expression. From Aldana’s letter to the school board:

Librarians are a bulwark for freedom of speech. They are the most effective reading promoters we have. The TDSB should be lauding them and supporting them unconditionally – not allowing this kind of attack upon them.

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