PAGES : It Won’t Do to ‘Forget’ His Books

Not long ago, gay publisher Sasha Alyson began hearing reports from librarians in at least six states that some groups were trying to keep some of his children’s books off the shelves.

At first the groups were pressuring public libraries to remove “Daddy’s Roommate” and “The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans” from their inventories. The children’s books are part of his Alyson Wonderland series, which is designed for children who have gay parents or who may themselves be gay.

“But now the tactic seems to be that they check the books out and then ‘forget’ to return them, and then slowly lose them,” said Alyson, whose Alyson Publications is based in Boston. “This mentality is hard to understand. How long do they expect to keep kids from learning about the real world?”

Reasoning that the best defense is a good literary offense, Alyson has countered by offering to donate the two award-winning books to libraries. He says he has 500 books available to the first libraries that request them.

“We’re going to say back to these people that the harder you try to keep these books off the shelves, the more we’re going to make sure that they’re there,” Alyson said.