Author of ‘The Kite Runner’ speaks out against controversial book ban policy in St. Francis schools

Stacks of books have been removed from the shelves of libraries in the St. Francis Area Schools district. More books, some of which are widely considered literary classics, could also end up in the restricted pile thanks to an anonymous reviewer website.

From “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood to “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, school reading materials have been stripped from school libraries due to the suggested guidance of reviewer website, BookLooks.org, which seeks to warn parents of “objectionable content” in books.

The status of the website will be taken up in a district policy committee meeting on Monday ahead of the St. Francis Schools board meeting, Board Chair Nathan Burr confirmed in an email.

Other books pulled from the district include “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” “Out of Darkness” and “Nineteen Minutes.” “Brave New World,” “Slaughterhouse Five” and “Native Son” could be next.

The website has also taken aim at “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. The book, which follows a young Afghan boy in the 1970s as the monarchy collapses, has sold millions of copies and is beloved by many book clubs and classrooms alike.

In an interview Thursday, Hosseini said he was dismayed to find that his book and others are being rated by a website without transparency about its contributors.

“When I hear ‘The Kite Runner’ is harmful to students and they need to be protected from it, it’s bewildering, because the response from the students themselves and the teachers is so overwhelmingly enthusiastic and positive,” Hosseini said.

The book has been characterized as a moving tale that provides many readers with exposure to Afghan culture.

PEN America, a nonprofit organization that says its goal is to protect freedom of expression, has called the school district’s book policy one of the worst school-based book ban policies in the United States.

BookLooks.org is associated with a former member of the influential conservative parental rights Moms for Liberty group. Books are rated on a scale of 0-5, with books rated 0 containing material “for everyone” and books rated 5 containing “aberrant content” for “adults only.”

In its reports, BookLooks does not include a synopsis of the book’s themes, a list of professional reviews or any accolades that the titles may have received. Quotes from the books are included without context.

Last fall, the northwestern Anoka County school voted to update its library materials policy to use BookLooks ratings as the primary resource in determining which books can be purchased or donated for school or classroom libraries.

Books rated 3 or above — indicating “parental guidance required” — cannot be accepted. Those ratings are also used to determine whether to keep a book in the library if it is challenged by a parent or community member.

“The Kite Runner” was rated a 4, or as “adult content not for minors” due to “obscene” references to sexual activity and explicit sexual nudity.

“This book contains sexual assault of a minor; prostitution involving minors and adults; and mild/infrequent profanity,” the website says.

For Hosseini, the rating website is just an excuse to rip books from shelves that have differing points of view. Most high school students are mature enough to digest and contextualize the themes that are raised by his book, he said.

Students are challenged appropriately and constructively, said Hosseini, who has received stacks and stacks of letters from students over the years who wrote of the impact “The Kite Runner” had on their education or their lives.

“I don’t think it has much to do with protecting children, and it has everything to do with targeting books written by people like me who provide a diverse viewpoint that may not be in line with the reviewers political or religious beliefs,” Hosseini said.

What Hosseini called a “marriage” of educational policy and partisan politics happening across U.S. school boards is disturbing, and students are the ones who suffer from it. In a democracy, it is essential that students have the freedom to read and to learn, he said.

“We’re supposed to be expanding their world and not shrinking it, and that’s what these policies do,” Hosseini said.