Third-grader finds inappropriate book in Seminole County school library

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Seminole County schools have pulled a book from the shelves of three elementary school because it contained inappropriate content.

A third-grader at Sabal Point Elementary brought the book home and showed her mother.

School officials said they are working to figure out how it got into the libraries and said they’re being proactive about fixing the glitch.

The book, “This One Summer” by Mariko Tamaki, details the adventures of a teenager on a summer vacation.

The book references oral sex and contains numerous obscenities.

A parent complaint spurred an apology from the school and copies of the book were removed from three schools.

“When the parent brought that to the attention of the principal, we immediately took a look at it and realized yes, that’s a teen-reader book, not appropriate for elementary school age students,” said Michael Lawrence of the Seminole County School District.

Amazon’s description of the book said it was on The New York Times' best seller list and was a 2015 Newbery honoree.

Some reviews called the book compelling while others said things like “this is practically porn for kids.”

Lawrence said parents should not have concern for other books in the library and that each book gets screened.

The district said it is working to find out how this one slipped through the cracks.

“Obviously now we’re going to look internally with our team to figure out how that occurred so that it doesn’t occur again,” Lawrence said.

The district said it appreciated the alert from the parent and that the incident is sparking a bigger review of how all books are screened.

Cox Media Group