Don't expect to see Lauren Myracle’s new book Luv Ya Bunches (Abrams/Amulet, 2009) at Scholastic school book fairs this year. It’s been censored—at least for now—due to its language and homosexual content. Luv Ya Bunches, about four elementary school girls who have little in common, but bond over the fact that they’re all named after flowers, is the first installment of a four-book series. But Scholastic says the book, released on October 1, failed to meet its vetting process because it contains offensive language and same-sex parents of one of the main characters, Milla. The company sent a letter to Myracle's editor asking the author to omit certain words such as "geez," "crap," "sucks," and "God" (as in, "oh my God") and to alter its plotline to include a heterosexual couple. Myracle agreed to get rid of the offensive language "with the goal—as always—of making the book as available to as many readers as possible," but the deal breaker was changing Milla's two moms. "A child having same-sex parents is not offensive, in my mind, and shouldn't be 'cleaned up.'" says Myracle, adding that the book fair subsequently decided not to take on Luv Ya Bunches because they wanted to avoid letters of complaint from parents. "I find that appalling. I understand why they would want to avoid complaint letters—no one likes getting hated on—but shouldn't they be willing to evaluate the quality of the complaint? What, exactly, are children being protected against here?" Myracle, who's no stranger to controversy, has appeared on the American Library Association’s top 10 list of most often challenged authors. Still, she's surprised that Scholastic would shy away from a reality that exists in numerous households across the country. “Over 200,000 kids in America are raised by same-sex parents, just like Milla. It's not an issue to clean up or hide away,” says Myracle. “In my opinion, it's not an 'issue' at all. The issue, as I see it, is that kids benefit hugely from seeing themselves reflected positively in the books they read. It's an extremely empowering and validating experience." Scholastic defended the move. “Authors are often given the opportunity to make changes in the books to meet the norms of the various communities that host the fairs,” adds Kyle Good, a Scholastic spokeswoman, explaining that the title will, however, be available in the Scholastic Book Club catalog. There wasn’t enough time for Scholastic to further review the book before including it in its book fairs, adds Good, but the company will continue monitoring the book’s popularity as well as the input from book fair field representatives to decide whether it should be included in future book fairs. Last year, a Vancouver, WA, school district stopped sponsoring Scholastic book fairs after a parent complained about the sale of Philip Pullman’s award-winning fantasy novel, The Golden Compass (Knopf, 1996), the first book in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, saying that it was un-Christian. Instead, parent-teacher associations had to sponsor the event. Good says she’s uncertain whether titles portraying nontraditional families were available for sale at elementary school Scholastic book fairs. But while Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson’s picture book And Tango Makes Three (S & S, 2005) isn’t available for sale at book fairs, it is available on the Scholastic Web site, she adds. Read the followup: Scholastic to Sell ‘Luv Ya Bunches’ at Middle School Book Fairs