WHAT JOHNNY SHOULDN’T READ: Textbook Censorship in...

WHAT JOHNNY SHOULDN’T READ: Textbook Censorship in America by Joan Delfattore (Yale University Press: $12; 209 pp.). Delfattore presents a chilling account of the Religious Right’s campaign to limit intellectual freedom. Because of their vociferous protests over textbook content, activists Mel and Norma Gabler--neither of whom completed college--have been able to overrule committees of scholars. The efforts of the Gablers and their ilk are not restricted to introducing the bogus science of creationism into American classrooms. They seek to prevent all students from reading anything they perceive as contrary to Fundamentalism, including stories that might teach children to think independently, use their imaginations or respect other religions. One protestor who sought to remove Robert Cormier’s highly praised “I Am the Cheese” from a junior high reading program complained that entering the classroom was,” like walking into a B. Dalton with desks. There are books just lining the walls.”