The Denton Public Library has canceled a Rainbow StoryTime event for kids 2-8 for “safety reasons.”
The StoryTime was scheduled for Saturday, which happens to be Transgender Day of Remembrance, and an incorrect program title used the word transgender in a recent program printing, according to a city news release. The library corrected the mistake, but outraged people have directed “disrespectful and hostile complaints based on this inaccurate information” at library staff members.
“Contrary to inaccurate information being spread, this event is not focused on teaching children about gender identity or anything relating to sex or sexual orientation,” the statement said. “It is certainly not, as some have claimed, ‘indoctrinating’ children into a transgender way of life.”
Because of the complaints, library officials said they became concerned for the staff and families that would attend the StoryTime, so they decided to cancel the event.
The library listed the three books that were going to be read at the event:
- “Red: A Crayon’s Story“ by Michael Hall
- “I’m a Girl” by Yasmeen Ismail
- “What Riley Wore” by Elana K. Arnold
None of those books mention sex, sexual orientation or transgender, nor do they reference characters being born one way and changing into another, according to library officials.
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