Nov 4 '09 -- 1 hr

What an interesting day! Diane told me she had an issue that would be great experience for me to be a part of addressing. She gave me a book from a recent or and told me to take a look at it and we'd meet and discuss my perceptions. It was

The Little Black Book for Guys, Guys Talk About Sex by St. Stephen's Community House

• 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Award finalist
• Best Books for Kids & Teens 2009, Cdn Children’s Book Centre

When I saw that it was gender focused, I asked if there was one for girls and if she had that on the shelves already. There is and she did. No one had checked it out yet, as it was a recent acquisition. She didn't want to color my analysis any further, so I set off to find the district selection policies and scrutinize this title.

Let's just say it was cheek-reddeningly honest and graphic. I tried to see the value of such a frank discussion of human sexuality. There were many worthwhile topics covered, but I just couldn't get past some of the cavalier attitudes about sex (and its practice, quite frankly) that I read. Also, there were cartoonish illustrations that were sure to incite eyebrowing raising. However, according to the district selection policy, this title was a fair selection. But I just couldn't imagine standing before a committee and defending its place in a school library.

I shared these thoughts with Diane and she agreed. She wanted to see if, since I am a little younger than she, I had a different opinion. Together, we decided to pull both titles (the boys & girls versions) from the shelf and pass them on to the health/teen relationship teachers to decided if they could isolate chapters for use in their curriculum. It was an incredibly worthwhile learning experience for me!