Editor’s note: We corrected this story to use author Oshiro’s preferred personal pronouns.
Robert Montgomery was unpleasantly surprised when his 10-year-old daughter turned from reading a library book by her favorite author to ask ,“Daddy, what does bisexual mean?”
He told us he then complained to the Williamsburg Regional Library, illustrating the challenge librarians face serving a diverse readership without giving offense or getting into the book banning business.
Talking to library Executive Director Sandy Towers about the issue, we learned a lot about how the library decides what books are appropriate for what age, and what parents can do to prevent their children from checking out materials they don’t believe they are ready for.
Montgomery said his daughter and son are fans of Rick Riordan’s mythological Percy Jackson series.
Montgomery said his daughter checked out “The Sun and the Star”, a book from a …