Books for Kids? Our taxes pay for a book promoting bottom surgery for kids ages 8-12... and more.
Books for Kids? Our taxes pay for a book promoting bottom surgery for kids ages 8-12... and more.
"A trans woman may have her testicles removed. She may also choose to get surgery to create a vagina... [Bottom surgery] can improve mental health. It is medically necessary."
(Find an update about the book list at the end of this article.)
I was sitting across from a friend a few months ago, eating lunch, when I asked the seemingly random question, “so what do you think about what is going on in the library?” She didn’t miss a beat, “I am so upset that the budget was cut, so the libraries cannot afford my kid’s favorite Magic Treehouse books!”
What? Who told you that?
“The librarian I spoke with. I asked her why we can’t get more Magic Treehouse books, and she told me it’s because the commissioners cut their budget.”
I found this to be the most interesting response to this question that I often drop on unsuspecting friends who might not already know what I’ve been up to. Montgomery County has a modest book budget compared to other counties our size. I assume the commissioners do this on purpose, perhaps to encourage the library administrators to focus on purchasing books like… The Magic Tree House series.
Somehow our county library administrators prioritize some interesting, high priced, newly published children’s/teen books, often long before Harris County is able to get them. Let’s take a look at three of them.
Book 1: Mental Health Support, Living with Gender Dysphoria by Rachel Kehoe
Our libraries placed two copies of this book on 2/27/2024 and 3/7/2024 paying $30.31 each for a total of $60.61. This book is part of a series of thin, easy to read, reference books that seem overpriced, probably because the vendors don’t sell many copies. This book is not even in Harris County. (Nor is it in Fort Bend County, whose budget I compared to ours.) Our libraries have invested quite a bit in similar woke reference books for children. Titles include, What Does it Mean to Defund the Police and Race and Policing in Modern America.
According to Amazon, this book is geared for children ages 8 - 12. This makes sense when you see the large font size and short chapters. It is written like an elementary grade, non-fiction chapter book. What does NOT make sense, is the content that is being presented to children in this age group. Let’s take a closer look:
Bottom surgery affects the genital region. This area may be a source of distress. A trans man may get bottom surgery to construct a penis. Surgery can remove female parts. (pg 54)
A trans woman may have her testicles removed. She may also choose to get a surgery that creates a vagina. … People may need to use a catheter after some bottom surgeries. This device helps them urinate during recovery. (pg 54-55)
No mention of the fact that some need to use a catheter for the rest of their lives.
Some states [like Texas??] have introduced bills to limit access health care for trans youth. Health insurance plans do not always cover gender affirmation surgery. But gender affirming health care is lifesaving. It can improve mental health. It reduces the risk of suicide. It is medically necessary. (pg 55)
Unfortunately, the science is showing that these statements are not true. Bottom surgery is not reducing psychiatric emergencies at all. The book ignores the many patients who didn’t have such a rosy outcome but instead woke up to a nightmare. In addition to adverse outcomes, our attorney general has issued an opinion that this kind of “gender affirming care” is child abuse. If this is considered child abuse in Texas, then why is this book being purchased by our tax dollars? Are books promoting other forms of child abuse being purchased? Is cutting and other forms of self-harm promoted in our library books?
Why isn’t a copy of Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier placed in the same section? Instead, all three copies are squirreled away in the adult section. Shouldn’t one copy be moved to this new section, so parents see this book is available? It is after all, a parenting book.
The above children’s book by Rachel Kehoe ignores evidence that medical intervention, especially bottom surgery, is dangerous and deadly. Complications and alarming studies are listed here:
This patient died at 23 of complications: Yelp review- I have a gaping hole in my genital area with my colon spilling out (disgusting) and a ring of scar tissue blocking most of the entrance. If the colon can't discharge, that leaves it with severe blockage, which then could turn (and likely expected) into blood clots, followed by death. I've already reached the stage of blockage.
Side effects from puberty blocker: More than 10,000 adverse event reports filed with the FDA reflect the experiences of women who’ve taken Lupron. The reports describe everything from brittle bones to faulty joints.
In a study published by the American Urological Association, they found: “Rates of psychiatric emergencies are high both before and after gender affirming surgery. Although both the phalloplasty and vaginoplasty patients have similar overall rates of psychiatric encounters, suicide attempts are more common in the later.” They found that after Vaginoplasty suicide rates doubled. Detailed information can be found at the website linked above.
This book references are few and the evidence against the conclusions made in this book is overwhelming. More information can be found at Stats for Gender.
Book 2: Frontera by Julio Anta
When I first found this young adult graphic novel, it had very recently been placed, ordered just after it was published. At the time, Harris County didn’t even have any copies yet, and still does not have as many copies. Fort Bend County has two copies. In August, just two weeks after the book was published, Montgomery County paid $43.32 for 3 copies, at some point a third copy was placed. This book appears to be demonizing border patrol, with the potential for radicalizing the youth in our county. How else could a book like this affect families in our county?
I asked a friend whose husband works for border patrol how this book could impact families like hers. She told me she already needs to be carefully measured about who she shares her husband’s profession with. She and her family are sometimes harshly judged by those who have bought into the left’s propaganda.
In this book, a young man’s parents send him across the border illegally to stay with his grandmother in the United States. He is smuggled across the border and visited by an ancestor spirit guide who helps him. The border patrol agent is depicted as a hateful racist, brandishing his gun in the faces of those who he has caught.
The idea the author seems to be presenting is that all people should be able to freely pass across the border, and anyone wanting to enforce the law is evil. I will leave you with the a few sections of the book. I recommend you go to the library, check this book out, and read it for yourself. This book is at the South Regional Library (The Woodlands), RB Tullis Library (New Caney), RF Meador Library (Willis), and Central Library (Conroe). This book is in the TEEN (Young Adult ages 13+) section.
This book is the tip of the iceberg. Just focusing on the children’s gender books is an overwhelming job. If I had time to dive into the propaganda in the young adult section, I would truly shock you. Perhaps I should review a few more books in the future. The sex-education books are particularly hair raising.
Quick reminder of what the mom looking for Magic Tree House Books was told:
“The commissioner’s cut our funding, and we don’t have enough funds for all the books we want.”
There are at least two factors that require book curation:
Space - Our libraries can only hold a finite amount of books.
Budget - Even with the most generous budgets, hard choices must be made.
Book 3: Banned Books, The Controversy Over What Students Read by Meryl Loonin
This book is about the same size as the first book we looked at and costs the same too, $30.31. The font is much smaller and discussion more detailed since the target audience is teens. This book was placed on 3/16/2023. This is another book that neither Harris County nor Fort Bend County has at all. Our county seems to be prioritizing certain books?
Finally, what is going on with the children’s gender books?
The last time I wrote to you, the gender books had all been removed from the children’s section. I was told that they would all be put in a parenting section out of reach of kids and that they were not being reviewed to possibly send some back to the children’s section. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. While many have been placed in the new parenting section, some have been returned to the children’s section. As soon as the dust settles, I will post a new list with updates of which books are where, including updated school lists.