Kids’ book pulled from division shelves over map illustration

A school library-technician is raising concerns about the swift removal of a new children’s book about a Palestinian family preparing to break their fast during Ramadan.

The Louis Riel School Division has taken Maysa Odeh’s Upside-Down Iftar off its shelves in response to a complaint about an illustrated map.

The superintendent says the decision isn’t final, but the case has left one elementary school employee “feeling quite uncomfortable.”

“The process for challenging books is supposed to be quite long and involved,” said the library technician, who agreed to an interview on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution at work.

The book was removed from circulation last week in an unusually sudden manner that contradicts internal protocols and past practises, she said.

Her employer has a policy on responding to informal and formal appeals to remove books and other learning material.

“During the reconsideration process, access to the materials being reconsidered and/or related materials shall not be restricted,” it states.

The picture book in question is about a girl named Malak and her grandmother making makloubeh — a one-pot dish with layers of rice, meat and vegetables — for a post-sunset meal.

Different family members weigh-in on the traditional Middle Eastern recipe throughout the story that explores themes of compromise and celebration.

It is filled with illustrations that reference Palestine, ranging from an olive tree to the keffiyeh, the traditional checkered scarf, by Nadine Issa. The colours of the Palestinian flag — red and green, in particular — are prominent throughout the book.

The division ordered 13 copies for 13 of its smaller elementary schools in the fall.

Recipients were informed last week that someone had reported that an image of a framed map, located both inside the book and on its back cover, made them feel unsafe.

Depicting modern-day Israel, the map is overlaid with a keffiyeh pattern. It is labelled with Arabic place names, such as “Al-Quds,” known as Jerusalem in English.

“Al-Naqab,” a large desert in the southern part of the region also known as Negev, is scrawled in the bottom-right corner of the picture frame. The Arabic script appears similar to “Al-Nakba,” meaning catastrophe in Arabic, a reference to the violent displacement of 750,000 Palestinians in 1948.

“My feeling is always that we should be selecting books and removing books based on truth and accuracy,” the library-technician said.

“It’s not a lie that Palestinian people exist, or they might have a map of what they consider to be Palestine and what other people consider to be Israel.”

The employee, who is neither Muslim nor Jewish, said she’s seen first-hand how impactful it is for kids to see themselves represented in library books.

The timing of this decision — midway through Ramadan, which began on Feb. 18 — is particularly unfortunate, she said.

While her school has texts about the month of holy celebrations, this one was unique in that it focuses on iftar, the celebratory meal that Muslims share to break their fast after the sun sets.

Superintendent Christian Michalik called the decision to temporarily halt distribution of the book, which he said he’d personally like to see return to library shelves, “regrettable.”

“This isn’t a ban. There’s not been any censorship here. No judgment’s been made on Palestinian identity and perspectives,” Michalik said, adding his division is committed to stocking diverse library collections.

He insisted the pause is temporary so a formal review process can take place to bring people together to hear specific concerns about the illustrated map.

Michalik said this is a unique situation because copies of the book, published in January, were still being distributed when the concern was raised. What happens next will align with the division’s policies, he said.

Division policy requires the superintendent to establish a “reconsideration committee” made up of teachers, parents and members of the public.

This group must examine the book, assess its strengths and weaknesses as an educational tool and prepare a written report, it states.

“A book shouldn’t be removed simply because somebody said it made them uncomfortable,” said Niki Card, president of the Manitoba School Library Association.

The association represents about 150 people, including classroom teachers, library technicians and teacher-librarians who manage school collections.

It’s routine practice for members to weed out books that are outdated or damaged, but other concerns should be dealt with based on clear policies, Card said.

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The veteran teacher-librarian said it’s important to have strong protocols around selection and deselection to take emotions out of the equation.

The Centre for Free Expression tracks requests to remove books from school libraries in its Canadian Library Challenges Database.

Upside-Down Iftar isn’t listed anywhere in the Toronto-based centre’s database.

It shows there were at least 14 challenges in Manitoba — all of which were reported by the Pembina Trails School Division — last year.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.

Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.