One on One with Award-Winning Children's Writer & AFSCME Member Susan Patron

Her most recent novel, The Higher Power of Lucky, won the prestigious Newberry Medal for the most distinguished children's book published last year. It also placed her at the center of a controversy over censorship and freedom of speech.

Her most recent novel, The Higher Power of Lucky, won the prestigious Newberry Medal for the most distinguished children's book published last year. It also placed her at the center of a controversy over censorship and freedom of speech.

Susan Patron

Photo Credit: Ben Chun

By Gonzalo Baeza

LOS ANGELES — By the time she was 8 years old, Susan Patron already knew she wanted to write. “Our teacher read us a book called Charlotte’s Web and it made a big impression on me. Ever since then I’ve wanted to write a story as powerful as that one. It was the first time I understood books could touch people in such a way,” says Patron, a member of AFSCME Local 2626 (Council 36).

E.B. White’s classic novel sparked in Patron a lifelong love of literature. A senior librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library and member of AFSCME since 1972, Patron has come a long way since the days when she used to write for her local’s newsletter, The Communicator. She is now a critically acclaimed author and recipient of the 2007 Newbery Medal for the most distinguished American children’s book published in 2006. Her book, The Higher Power of Lucky, tells the story of 10-year-old Lucky Trimble and her life among the eccentric characters of the California desert community of Hard Pan (population 43).

Aimed at readers age 9 to 11, the book received critical acclaim and significant controversy. It was denounced by several librarians who threatened not to order it because of a minor scene in the story where a character recalls how a rattlesnake bit his dog in the “scrotum.” Use of the word stirred a debate that generated nationwide media attention.

The outrage, however, was met by eloquent freedom of speech defenses on Patron’s behalf by writers and activists across the country. During National Library Week (April 15 to 21), AFSCME ran a full-page ad in The New York Timesbook section congratulating Patron for her “remarkable literary achievement” and highlighting the crucial work of library workers nationwide. Other organizations such as the American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians also came out in the writer’s defense.

What do you think about the controversy surrounding your book?

I was very surprised by that but overall it’s been very exciting. It’s been very heartening to discover how strong the profession of librarianship is in terms of intellectual freedom.

AFSCME’s New York Times ad congratulating Local 2626 (Council 36) member Susan Patron, winner of the 2007 Newbery Medal for the most distinguished American children’s book published in 2006.

Do you consider the attacks on your book to be censorship?

Librarians refer to censorship when a book is already on the shelves and it’s removed. I don’t think that is what happened in this case. It hasn’t been banned anywhere that I know of. Nonetheless, some librarians have chosen not to buy it in the first place, which is in some ways a more insidious form of censorship and one that’s much more difficult to pinpoint.

Do you think librarians should weigh in on the appropriateness of a certain book?

We all have selection policies that clearly spell out what our goals are. Here at the L.A. Public Library, if people are asking about a book, it’s popular, it’s on bestseller lists and it’s won major awards, those are sure signs to us that we need to get copies because our patrons want to read it. We don’t have all the money or all the space in the world, and we do have to select but popularity and demand are important factors to consider. We don’t put ourselves in the position to say whether or not it’s appropriate because we feel that is a parent’s role, not ours.

Have you received any feedback from regular readers?

There were some 450 letters to The New York Times after they ran a front-page article on the controversy. These were parents as well as people from all walks of life and a lot of them were saying: ‘It is pretty ridiculous to judge a book on the basis of one word.’ On the other hand, others chimed in saying that it was sensationalistic to use that word and yet they hadn’t read the book.

Will the debate sparked by The Higher Power of Lucky affect your writing?

Not at all. My tools are words and I will always write, choosing words very carefully.