Author! Author!

Re “Kids’ lit, with body parts,” Opinion, Feb. 27

To paraphrase another controversial sculptor of the English language, a scrotum by any other name would, perhaps, be inappropriate for youngsters. But scrotum is the anatomically correct term for a part of the body. One wonders who could object to children learning biological vocabulary while being absorbed in an award-winning piece of literature? And yet, shockingly, there are some people who are objecting. As a member of the library committee of the Art Institute of California-Orange County, where I teach, I have ordered a copy of Susan Patron’s “The Higher Power of Lucky.” Further, as a member of Huntington Beach’s Library Board of Trustees, I will do everything in my power to get the word out about Patron and her book.

BEN MILES

Huntington Beach

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I am writing in response to the article by Patron. What comes through in her writing is her passion, love and enchantment with books, and wanting children to experience all those things. When I was a child, I couldn’t wait to learn to read and to get my own library card. At the age of 4, I was introduced to not only the local library but the wonder of seeing so many books in one place. I remember feeling like I was being served up the most miraculous food at a huge buffet. And here I am, 67 years later, still frequenting the library in my area, still reading voraciously and still falling in love with the excitement and delight of words, the tactile feel and smell of a book and the introduction to new ideas and new ways of looking at the world that never occurred to me.

Thank you for allowing me to share my enthusiasm, and thanks for authors like Patron who are still writing books for all the right reasons.

BARBARA R. CLOUD

Castaic