"Bunny Suicides"

The book of cartoons "Bunny Suicides" has been allowed to remain in a public High School library after complaints from a parent. 

While I find these cartoons hilarious, and I am all for the First Amendment, I'm not sure that it belongs at a school.  Public library, by all means.  I don't see how this book made it into the public school system in first place.  Shouldn't books in a school library have to pass approval, and shouldn't they be at least slightly educational?   Your thoughts?

Sorry, but I LOL'd at the bunny with the cigarette up it's butt  :D

I don't think it's that big of a deal, really.  I mean it's kind of sick humor, but there's nothing really graphic about it.  And I guess it could be considered a form of art.....

what is bunny suicide???????

as a librarian, i'd say that in a high school library, the students are mature enough that this need not be censored

elementary school library - no

In a high school library (in any library) you'll have resources that support academics or scholarship and then you'll also have other resources that may be of interest, amusement, or entertainment to your patrons.

I'd consider any reasons that parents might present as to why it should be removed, but as you have demonstrated with this thread, taking it out of the library doesn't mean that kids won't see it.  If they see it, what will happen?

I guarantee you there are other materials in the library that deal with suicide.  A humorous treatment of it is the least of your worries.

It's always something.

Original Post by thmheh:

Shouldn't books in a school library have to pass approval, and shouldn't they be at least slightly educational?   Your thoughts?

I don't know - I suppose there's a certain level of creativity there mixed with sarcasm and humor.  Whether or not one considers it educational, I find it to be funny and relatively harmless. 

If this were in an elementary school library, I might object, but we're talking high school here.  Is anyone seriously suggesting that teenagers are going to get ideas about suicide or start torturing bunnies because of these cartoons?

In my high school library, they had "Lady Chatterly's Lover", "How to Talk Dirty and Influence People", and "The Bell Jar" - I seriously doubt anyone would consider these less "questionable" than bunny cartoons.  And if you really want to get into saucy material, not only do most school libraries have no problems with things like Shakespeare or Chaucer on their shelves, but they're often class assignments.

And if they're going to be available in a public library, all a teenager has to do is get a freakin' library card.  Of course, without some really iron clad parental controls, the internet is a treasure trove of nasty stuff.

It appears that some schools and parents think it's easier to hide everything than to teach actual educated and mature discernment. 

Is anyone seriously suggesting that teenagers are going to get ideas about suicide or start torturing bunnies because of these cartoons?

*grabs cigarettes* "Oh Thumper! Here bunny bunny bunny!"

Nah seriously, I doubt high school aged kids would do such things. At 13 you should be able to reconise the difference between a comical comic strip
& real life.

When I was at school we had the books by Sue Towsend called Adrian Mole. For those that don't know they were written as the diary of a teenage boy. In which he measured his willy regularly.

hahaha those were great....some parents have WAY too much time on their hands if thats the best they can come up with to complain about....

I would have more of a problem with it as a taxpayer. I would rather the money went to something else instead of this.

! Not the BUNNIES!!!

I agree with the taxpayer issue.

Original Post by trendstudent:

I would have more of a problem with it as a taxpayer. I would rather the money went to something else instead of this.

 Im of the mind that education is more than just feeding kids a bunch of facts to spit back when asked.... imagination and thinking outside the box are both very important things to teach.

Unique ways of thinking and creativity should be valued...not pushed aside because they dont fit what was expected.

This ranges from everything to what students read to what they are allowed to do and explore. I cant tell you how many times my teachers gave me lower grades because i did something different. I remember one time when i was in gradeschool i wrote a story about drugs and suicide and regret and all kinds of unexpected issues....and was given an F because it wasnt "appropriate" to my grade.

Its kind of sad we still feel as if we need to monitor and control what kids think because we feel their lives should be nothing but mindless cartoons and games.

Original Post by loriklorik:

Original Post by trendstudent:

I would have more of a problem with it as a taxpayer. I would rather the money went to something else instead of this.

 Im of the mind that education is more than just feeding kids a bunch of facts to spit back when asked.... imagination and thinking outside the box are both very important things to teach.

 I agree with you on that but there's a gray area on what that includes when it comes to using tax dollars. It just seems that there's an expectation for the school to give kids every single thing when they really need to learn some things at home or out in real life. I mean, when so many people are out of work and the economy is in the tank, there's better things to spend money on.

Other than that, my fave bunny cartoon was the one with the tickle feather on the bodybuilder...too cute.

I did alot of drugs in high school. The last thing anyone should have worried about is me reading a freaking bunny book.

The book should stay.

I don't want my tax-payer dollars paying to form committees to decide what high-school kids (some of whom are, themselves, tax payers and adults) can and can't read.  I'd be happy that they went into the library at all.

Original Post by schnooder:

I did alot of drugs in high school. The last thing anyone should have worried about is me reading a freaking bunny book.

 Well, I guess if giving them bunny suicide books have a chance of keeping them off the drugs, I'd be all for it 

Original Post by schnooder:

I did alot of drugs in high school. The last thing anyone should have worried about is me reading a freaking bunny book.

There are so many things going on with teenagers and high school that this bunny suicide book is way down at the bottom of the list of concerns.

I could understand asking "does this really belong in a high school library when it's not educational"? And I thought about it and decided "sure". I mean, I read for fun, but there were so many kids at my school who regarded reading as a chore and only did it for assignments. Maybe them seeing something a bit on the silly fun side would open them up to the idea of enjoying a book even when the teacher isn't making them read it.

If that parent's biggest issue is REALLY the chance that their teenage kid might read the bunny suicide book at school, they must lead a charmed life! Some of the cartoons are a bit sick, but black humour is like that! Teenage kids are old enough to know the difference between reality and fiction.

Original Post by coffincritter:

I could understand asking "does this really belong in a high school library when it's not educational"? 

Geez, if that question were asked as a requisite for school libraries, they wouldn't be stocking Hemmingway novels - or any mediocre fiction at all.  But it can be said that depending on your point of view, almost any published book can be considered "educational".  I've read quite a few books that I thought weren't worth the paper they were printed on, but I still learned a tidbit or two from them.

Original Post by kajikit:

If that parent's biggest issue is REALLY the chance that their teenage kid might read the bunny suicide book at school, they must lead a charmed life! 

Nah - it's the second.  The biggest is, obviously, Harry Potter.  (In my public school years it was Huckleberry Finn and Are You There God, It's Me Margaret)

Some handy information about banned books and efforts to ban books

From the American Library Association, the most challenged books/authors of 2007

From the Radcliffe (now Columbia) publishing course, the Most banned/challenged novels of the 20th century

The Forbidden Library

Banned Books Week is in the fall, but what the heck - read a banned book now too!

I grew up in a town with a strong public library system and high schoolers had access to libraries in the local 5 colleges.

I think I stepped in the high school library twice while I was in high school.  Should have been closed altogether and the space put to better use.