MENOMONEE FALLS — It’s National Banned Books Week, and a community group in Menomonee Falls distributed a recently banned book at school drop-off Monday morning.
Members of Grassroots Menomonee Falls Area spent the morning at Benjamin Franklin and Shady Lane Elementary Schools handing out free copies of “Love Makes a Family” by Sophie Beer.
The children’s book was removed in July from the district’s optional 4K Family Traveling Read Aloud Books program.
“It’s the book they banned. As a parent, a teacher, a grandparent, and a community advocate, I believe it’s all about choice,” Kathy McBride, a volunteer with the group, said as she passed out copies.
Many parents at school drop-off recognized the book but had mixed reactions.
Watch: Menomonee Falls community group hands banned book at school drop-off
One parent, Kelly Inman, took the book and read it to her kids in the car before sending them into the classroom.
“I thought the book was fabulous. It had a good message and shows a lot of love,” Inman explained.
Other parents politely declined the offer, with one even dropping the book out of the car window.
TMJ4 obtained a letter sent to parents by the Menomonee Falls School District on Monday.
The superintendent said in part, “They want families to know that this activity was not organized or approved by the school district,” adding that the individuals were “handing out books near the school, but off school grounds.”
According to public records obtained by TMJ4 News, district parents Paul and Katrina Mouldenhauer challenged the book over the summer after it came home from Shady Lane Elementary with their five-year-old daughter.
The Mouldenhauers argued the book showed a transgender couple in bed, saying, “There are two men lying in a bed together.”
The Menomonee Falls Board of Education ultimately banned the book on the grounds that it was not in alignment with the district’s Human Growth and Development Standard.
“Love Makes a Family” isn’t the first book the district has removed either.
In October 2023, nearly three dozen books were banned at Menomonee Falls High School. They were pulled from library shelves after administrators deemed the material too “sexually explicit.”
On National Banned Books Week, Grassroots Menomonee Falls Area said they hope to educate others about what’s happening in the community.
“We’ve been talking with a lot of people, and they want access to books. If you don’t want to read it, don’t read it. If you do, read it,” Hallie Schmeling, co-lead of the group, said.
“The more we can educate, the more people can make their own choices.”
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