the book she reportedly wanted removed from her hometown
library.
The book is titled Daddy’s Roommate and is authored by
Michael Willhoite. The children’s book is about a young boy
discussing his divorced father’s new, gay roommate. It was first
published in 1989 – and was the number 2 “most frequently
challenged book” between 1990 and 2000,
according to the American Library Association.
Willhoite stated:
“I rather suspected one of my books might be the one
she targeted. I can tell you right now, Ms. Palin is a very good
mother and everything. But she is my mortal enemy. She is one of
the enemies of the First Amendment and I can hardly [organize] my
thoughts here, I am so offended by this.”
The New York Times validated the story, writing:
[I]n 1995, Ms. Palin, then a city councilwoman, told
colleagues that she had noticed the book “Daddy’s Roommate” on the
shelves and that it did not belong there, according to Ms. Chase
and Mr. Stein. Ms. Chase read the book, which helps children
understand homosexuality, and said it was inoffensive; she
suggested that Ms. Palin read it.“Sarah said she didn’t need to read that stuff,” Ms. Chase said.
“It was disturbing that someone would be willing to remove a book
from the library and she didn’t even read it.”
Stay tuned to the Family Equality Council blog as we’ll be making a
big announcement regarding “banned books” later in the month!