Controversial children’s book will stay in League City library after split council vote – Houston Public Media

Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune

A book about a child with a magical wig stirred debates and launched a months-long effort into its removal from the children’s section of the League City Library.

After a split vote amongst city council members failed earlier this week, the book will remain where it is and not be reshelved to the parent’s section of the library.

Book retailer, Barnes & Noble describes “Big Wig” by Jonathan Goodman as a story that celebrates “the universal childhood experience of dressing up and the confidence that comes with putting on a costume.”

“When a child dresses in drag to compete in a neighborhood costume competition, he becomes B. B. Bedazzle!” the book description reads.

But Natalie Sharp, who voiced her concerns in an email to city library staff earlier this year, said the book is complex and controversial, and asserted it should be removed from the children’s section of the Helen Hall Library.

“I firmly believe that this material is highly inappropriate for children,” Sharp said in a book reconsideration request. “‘Big Wig’ celebrates children participating in drag shows, a concept that, in my opinion, is not suitable for young readers.”

She urged that the book should not be introduced to children who are “not yet capable of processing such adult-oriented content.”

The book was first added to the library in 2022. It has been checked out 14 times.

The Community Standards Review Committee, a panel of residents charged with vetting book complaints and deciding what books should stay in their dedicated sections, took up an hour-long discussion of the book in July.

Committee members, who were appointed by the city council in 2022, determined that “Big Wig” should be relocated to a higher shelf in the library, and only accessible by adults. But the complaint was ultimately kicked back to city councilmembers before the relocation could take place.

The fate of the children’s book was at the center of heated conversations at multiple city council meetings. Council members quarreled about its placement and residents tried to sway their decision at the podium.

Councilmember Courtney Chadwell said he was confused when reading the children’s book, which is recommended for readers in pre-kindergarten, according to the publisher’s website.

“It’s really a bad book,” Chadwell said. “There’s nothing really redeeming about the book. It’s confusing from a literary perspective. About the only thing good about it is there are some colorful illustrations.”

He ultimately voted against removing the book from the children’s section, and said it falls short of containing any objectionable material.

“We want parents to have the choice,” Mayor Nick Long said before the vote. “The best way to accomplish that is to move it to the parenting section. That gives parents full choice. That leaves the book in the library.”

Long argued the move would give parents the choice of what their children read, instead of the government. The library is owned by the city of League City.

“So I would vote for parents to have more choice as opposed to the government,” Long said.

The motion failed after council members were split in their vote, and the book will remain in its original location.

Marika Fuller, a resident urged council members to “stop this madness of meddling in the business of the residents of League City.”

“What makes you think that you know better than I do on how to parent my children?” Fuller said.

“Some on this city council seem hell-bent on costing as much division and strife in this city as possible rather than looking at the things that unite us,” she said. “And it has amplified us and that mentality.”

PEN America, a nonprofit organization defines book bans as the removal or restriction of books that have been challenged.

More than 1,500 books have been restricted or removed from libraries across Texas since 2021, according to the organization.