KOOTENAI COUNTY — A group of concerned citizens have been diligently documenting content in children’s libraries. The group of parents and retired professionals is led by Rathdrum resident Marianna Cochran, and together they maintain the Clean Books 4 Kids website where parents are shown just what kind of perversion is passing as literature in schools and public libraries.
The work that Clean Books 4 Kids has completed over the past four years has steadily raised public awareness, changed library policy, and seen new legislation passed to protect children from sexually explicit materials.
So far, the schools seem to be resistant to taking proactive measures to clean up the shelves—waiting until requests for reconsideration are submitted. Each school has its own guidelines and submission form, and some allow anyone to submit requests while others require the submission to come from parents of children enrolled in the district. Clean Books 4 Kids has created a helpful guide with direct links to all library policies, reconsideration forms, and the list of books that have been identified as “unsuitable for children” as defined by Idaho law.
One example of sexually explicit literature found at public schools is Triangles by Ellen Hopkins.
“There is no justification for a book this sordid to be in the Post Falls High School library,” wrote Clean Books 4 Kids in a January 3 email. “[It] seems kids at local high schools are being groomed.”
“This book has obscene sexual activities including sadomasochism; sexual nudity; profanity; alcohol abuse; drug use; controversial religious commentary; and alternate sexualities,” states the cover sheet on the Book Looks review.
BookLooks.org is a national watchdog organization that does the tedious work of screening adult content in literature. It lists Triangles as adult fiction and rated the book a “5 out of 5, Aberrant Content.”
As part of its advocacy, Clean Books 4 Kids is hosting a screening of the documentary 22 Words which exposes the shocking content in literature marketed to children. The event is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 26 at Candlelight Fellowship.
The Community Library Network (CLN), under the leadership of Director Martin Walters hired by an elected board, has taken the initiative to review, screen, and relocate explicit materials in its collections. To date, 17 requests to relocate material have been received and Walters has placed 140 titles under legal review for adherence to Idaho law.
“I am still working with my collection development and technical services manager on how best to provide transparency and efficiency regarding the items under legal review,” Walters told the library trustees. “We categorize and classify all the time, that is our profession.” Listen to his full remarks here.
The Coeur d’Alene Library, which is governed by a board appointed by the Mayor of the city, has reviewed only one book after a parent submitted a request for relocation in July 2024. The book is titled Sex Is a Funny Word and is generally known as a sex guide; although proponents of adult content at any age prefer the term “sex education.”
The Book Looks review rated Sex is a Funny Word a “4 out of 5, Not for Minors” and the cover sheet states, “This book contains graphic illustrations involving sexual nudity; sexual activities; sexuality and alternate gender ideologies.”
“Like other holes in our body, the anus is usually very sensitive, which means it can feel good to touch but can also hurt if we are rough with it,” wrote the authors on page 63 of Sex is a Funny Word. Images on page 66 show male genitalia in various states of arousal, and the authors tell children that “having a penis isn’t what makes you a boy…having a vulva isn’t what makes you a girl.” The book also encourages masturbation.
The Coeur d’Alene library rejected the parent’s request to relocate the book to the adult shelves. “I don’t think it meets the criteria of being harmful to minors,” stated Trustee Steve McCrea who has sat on the board for over 20 years. “My vote is it should remain in the children’s department as it is, I don’t think it’s obscene.” Watch the board’s full review of the book here.
Children of all ages can find Sex is a Funny Word while browsing in the Children’s Section.
A founding member of Clean Books 4 Kids and Kootenai Journal columnist Suzanne Kearney has given public comment at local libraries since her family moved here from western Washington.
At the CLN December board meeting, Kearney pushed back against the narrative that protecting children from adult contact constitutes “book banning.”
“Joseph Goebbels said, ‘If you repeat a lie often enough it becomes accepted as truth.’ The so-called ‘read banned books’ crowd continually repeats half-truths and distortions, claiming that our libraries are on a slippery slope toward Orwellian censorship and dystopian surveillance,” Kearney stated. “In true Orwellian fashion, the propagandists themselves point fingers at the truth-tellers.”
Here are three examples of the propagandist narrative she highlighted:
- Protecting children from harmful content is “censorship” but endangering them is “civil rights.”
- Promoting traditional values is “hate” but promoting hatred of traditional values is “love.”
- The library does not own any explicit books, yet minors must retain access to these books for their healthy development.
Cochran shared that the “glacial pace” by which the school administrators work is untenable and will likely result in her “being ready for a nursing home” before all the filthy books are removed from schools. Her goal is to get the community active enough to put “loads of pressure on this dam they’ve built…so that it eventually breaks in the form of them taking the initiative to clean out their own libraries.”
Based on the available information, it appears that CLN is the only library in our community taking the initiative.
