Parent urges Florida school district to ban Arthur book for bizarre reason
Green Cove Springs, Florida - A parent has filed a complaint with his local Florida school district, urging them to review and ban an Arthur book for a bizarre reason.
According to The Daily Beast, conservative activist of the No Left Turn in Education group Bruce Friedman filed a detailed complaint about a children's book that especially triggered him.
Arthur's Birthday, written by creator Marc Brown in 1989, features the aardvark attending a classmate's party that happened to fall on the same day as his birthday.
Arthur receives a glass bottle as a gift from his friend Francine, which has the words "Francine's Spin the Bottle Game" written on it. The text is a reference to the game Spin the Bottle, in which a bottle is spun in the center of a circle of young people, and the person who spun the bottle must kiss whomever it lands on.
Although no kissing took place in the story, Friedman took issue with the insinuation that the cartoon animals might make out, which he says has the potential to "damage souls."
"PROTECT CHILDREN!!" he wrote in his complaint."IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE TO DISCUSS 'SPIN THE BOTTLE' WITH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN."
The book was added to a list of 44 other books the district will be reviewing.
Florida is attempting to reshape history
Friedman's concerns came as the state of Florida has been implementing new legislation to ban or restrict lessons and books in public schools that touch on the subjects of race, sexuality, and gender. Most recently, the state's Board of Education passed new controversial standards on teaching Black history, which include teaching how "slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit."
The move has been a part of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' war against "wokeness," or ideas of inclusiveness he deems detrimental to the nation.
Currently, Arthur's Birthday is still "Pending Oversight Committee Review."
Cover photo: Collage: Screenshot / YouTube/ @claycountydistrictschools877 & IMAGO / Everett Collection