Chris Crutcher on the latest Sarah Byrnes challenge.

From chriscrutcher.com:

When STAYING FAT FOR SARAH BYRNES is challenged, there are things a school board might want to know.  For example, the event of Sarah Byrne's burning comes from a real life event; I didn't dream up something for the sake of shock.  The story is meant to be a celebration of friendship under fire: a young boy is saved by an unlikely ally and returns the favor when the stakes are at their highest.  What I like most about the mail I receive is the number of kids who say they wish they had, or could be, a friend like that.

   

If the attacks the book receives are from the religious right, I can say this: the book was never meant to be an attack on Christianity, but rather to expose the dangers of rigidity.

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Happily, it looks like the challenge is a non-issue--the book will remain on the library shelves.  But the essay is worth reading anyway.