Here, Johnny - read Boy Meets Boy; it's on CA's LGBT approved reading list

By Correctamundo

Californication just keeps sinking deeper and deeper into the pit of depravity, all in the name of diversity, inclusion, and political expediency.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender literature are included in the California Department of Education's newest reading list for students K-12 that includes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender literature, prompting complaints from critics who say a leftist agenda is being pushed on kids, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

"It's a frightening trend," Sandy Rios, host of a morning radio show on American Family Radio or AFR Talk told the newspaper. "The reading lists are very overtly propagating a point of view that is at odds with most American parents. Leftist educators are advocates of everything from socialism to sexual anarchy. It's very base; it's raping the innocence of our children. "

The CA Dept of Education has a searchable Recommended Literature List database which I decided to search. 

I first searched for gay, lesbian, transgender for up through the 5th grade and nothing came up. Then I searched for 6-8 and came up with these:


Title: Face in Every Window, A

Annotation: A family composed of a teenage boy, his fearful mother, and his developmentally disabled father win a house into which they invite other social misfits. They are joined by a gay man, a runaway girl, and others who provide a face in every window. Mature situations and emotional intensity are depicted.


Title: Totally Joe

Annotation: Funny and introspective, Joe is a gay seventh-grader whose teacher gives him the assignment to write an “alphabiography”—his life story, from A to Z. Through the assignment, Joe explores issues of friendship, family, school, and being bullied. He faces his sexuality, questioning gender expectations and traditional roles as he realizes he is gay. Because Joe is different, he is tormented by Kevin, who calls Joe disparaging names and falsely accuses him of kissing a jock named Colin, who is not yet ready to come out as gay. This book inspired the national “No Name-Calling Week” adopted in school districts across the United States.

Next, I searched for gay, lesbian, sexuality for grades 9-12 and came up with these (there were 31 - I'm only showing a few of them):


Title: Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence

Annotation: Short stories by various well-known authors explore how homosexuality affects young people's lives, through personal identity, parent or teacher orientation, friends, and other connections. Many stories are humorous, and all illuminate aspects of the gay/lesbian issue. This book addresses controversial issues of interest to many adolescents and includes scenes and language that reflect mature content. Before handing the text to a child, educators and parents should read the book and know the child.


Title: Ash

Annotation: This Cinderella retelling details the story of Ash, who lives under the control of her evil stepmother and longs to escape. Ash finds freedom only through reading and by wishing a fairy will come one day to save her and take her away. This wish comes true, and she is taken to a new world where she falls in love with Kaisa, a huntress. Their friendship grows, and Ash begins to think everything will work out. But there are always obstacles. This well-told fantasy story will appeal to teens who are looking for strong female characters and especially to those looking for lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) characters. This book was nominated for the Lambda Young Adult Literature Award.

Title: Boy Meets Boy

Annotation: This unique novel tells the story of Paul, who lives in a town where homosexuality is accepted, and of Tony, who lives in a neighboring town where religious beliefs are strict and being gay is not embraced. Rumors begin to fly about Paul and Tony, and Tony’s parents are the most concerned. Eventually the friendship is forbidden. But things get more complicated as Paul falls for Noah, and the confusion of adolescent love and friendship comes to a climax. This coming-of-age novel depicts the emotional experiences of teenagers while also tackling issues of parental control and how communities influence the ways in which people define themselves. The book addresses controversial issues of interest to many adolescents and includes scenes and language that reflect mature content. Before handing the text to a child, educators and parents should read the book and know the child.

Title: Hard Love

Annotation: Ever since John's parents were divorced, his mother hasn't touched him, not even accidentally {? - what does that mean}. When he visits his dad in Boston every weekend, his father never seems to be around. John feels alone in the world until he meets a teen named Marisol, who has published a very honest 'zine about herself. Even though he knows that Marisol is a lesbian, John mistakes their growing intimacy for love, and a disastrous date to his junior prom leaves that friendship in ruins.


These are just some examples on the approved list.  What's interesting are some books that have been banned in the U.S.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451 has to head this list of "ironic books banned." Why? Fahrenheit 451 is an entire novel about the future and the banning (and burning) of books. It was banned, ironically, because one of the books that eventually gets banned and burned is the Bible. Drawn your own conclusions, my (hopefully) intelligent readers.

Where's Waldo? by Martin Handford - Misprint, right? Uh, no. The very first Where's Waldo? book was, indeed, banned, because in one of the Where's Waldo? drawings a beach is shown featuring a woman lying on the sand with part of her breast showing. It was actually just a side view of her breast, with a penciled-in microscopic nipple shown.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - This classic was banned for "vulgar language."

Little Red Riding Hood (You can't make this stuff up, folks!) - Little Red Riding Hood has been banned for the use of alcohol (one of the items in Red Riding Hood's basket is a bottle of wine).

It's just crazy how what's right is wrong and what's wrong is right. Can you imagine how much time and effort it took to look at the beach scene from Where's Waldo? to find a woman lying on the sand with part of her boob showing? Yet let's be quick to hand out books about lesbian fantasy love - or as they put it,  teens who are looking for strong female characters. You really can't make this crap up.

I do want to go back to one book in particular - Totally Joe. When that title popped up, I immediately thought of our Joe Biden who is always being 'totally Joe' on his nation-wide gaffe tour and I just started cracking up. Oh yeah...I feel an agitprop coming on....