A children’s picture book about a boy who wants to dress as a mermaid has sparked controversy in Connecticut after being included in a second-grade class curriculum.
The book ‘Julian Is a Mermaid’ by author Jessica Love, tells the story of a boy who wants to become a mermaid and take part in the renowned Coney Island Mermaid Parade.
Several parents in the Fairfield County town, Darien, have asked the school district to review its decision to approve the book.
Parent Megan Watros brought the book to the attention of the Board of Education at a recent meeting after it was read in her second-grader’s class, Darien Times reported.
At the school board meeting October 25, Watros said she is ‘all for’ diversity in education but called the book ‘inappropriate’ for a second-grade class given its discussion of gender themes and what she interpreted as promoting gender transitioning.
‘Education on changing gender should be completely off-limits,’ she said.
Children’s book Julian is a mermaid, which is about a boy who wants to dress a mermaid, has sparked controversy in Connecticut after being included in a second-grade class curriculum
Founded in 1983, the Mermaid Parade, depicted in the book pays tribute to a century of Coney Island ‘ingenuity, revelry, and pageantry by celebrating the artistic vision of the masses’
Several parents in the Fairfield County town, Darien, have asked the school district to review its decision to approve the book
‘If this is the path the school wishes to take with the social and emotional learning, because that’s the guise that they’re hiding this under, then we should be able to opt out.’
In a memo sent to parents, the curriculum team explained that the book met the district’s core values of diversity and inclusion and supports acceptance and empathy.
The memo added that the book’s inclusion of gender identity is not the main theme of the lesson unit but ‘may be relatable to some students.’
While the publisher may list the book under gender identity among other tags, ‘a book tag in no way determines or limits the scope of a lesson or a teaching point,’ according to the memo.
Watros’ concerns sparked a debate in the meeting and have since circled through the community of Darien parents after an anonymous email appeared in some parents’ inboxes on November 13, nearly three weeks after the meeting.
The email, obtained by the Darien Times, had been sent from an encrypted Proton Mail address listed as ‘protectdarienkids’ and said that the book’s depiction of ‘a young non-gender-conforming boy dressing as a girl, several pictures of drag queens and the boy being paraded semi-naked with adults.’
‘Given the lack of transparency and the question marks around age appropriateness of this material, it is only fair that parents should know,’ the email says.
The message also lists the names and contact information of the members of the Curriculum Committee and the Board of Education. It is unknown how many parents received the email.
The book which has received widespread acclaim for its artistic style and message of acceptance has also earned several prizes, including the 2019 Stonewall Book Award
The book ‘Julian Is a Mermaid’ by author Jessica Love, tells the story of a boy who wants to become a mermaid and take part in the renowned Coney Island Mermaid Parade
Superintendent Alan Addley said that the book falls under the social and emotional learning curriculum in the Darien Public Schools and was selected ‘to support acceptance’
Alicia Johnson, whose children are in first and third grade in town, said she was surprised to receive the email.
She had not heard about the complaints at the Board of Education meeting, though she knew of the book because of its critical acclaim.
‘Darien’s a rather smallish town but I still want them, despite that, to learn about the greater world,’ she said in support of reading the book to her children.
‘I don’t want them emerging from the Darien school system with an inaccurate picture of what the world is.’
She said she was ‘suspicious of whoever the sender is,’ and alerted members of the school administration as well as local government officials to the email.
‘I think the sender is making up an organization and pretending that they represent or are a member of an organization which does not exist, it has no internet presence, and that is frustrating,’ she said.
Johnson replied to the sender that same day, asking how they obtained her contact information and said that she disagreed with the message’s ‘agenda’ but has not received a response.
Though she did not receive the email, Stacey Tié was notified of it by several other parents, including Johnson, within parent group chats.
Tié told the publication that the anonymous email was part of a trend of anonymous accounts she had witnessed online and on social media in recent years over issues such as Open Choice and curriculum in the schools.
‘Nobody puts their names to any of these things,’ Tié said.
Love, who is the author of four children’s books, said on her website that the book was her first
Social emotional learning books are chosen by curriculum teams and guided by library media specialists
Darien Public Schools will hold a parent workshop on social emotional learning in December
‘They spread fear and lies, quite frankly, and misinformation to scare parents and get them to come out and speak against things, and to stop really good things from happening in the district.
‘This is just another fake anonymous account spreading misinformation and getting parents riled up for no reason, and it’s cowardly.’
Watros said she did not receive the email, either, though said she knew several parents who did.
‘I feel badly that people feel they have to be anonymous with raising concerns regarding their children,’ she said.
‘We should be able to speak openly and have meaningful conversations.’
While she said, ‘sending anonymous notes is not (her) style,’ Watros understood that some parents might not feel comfortable speaking publicly.
Several parents have reached out to thank her for her statement at the Board of Education meeting, she said.
‘After speaking out, I found there were many other parents who shared the same sentiment,’ she said. ‘I’ve had kind, supportive letters left in my mailbox.’
The book which has received widespread acclaim for its artistic style and message of acceptance has also earned several prizes, including the 2019 Stonewall Book Award.
Love, who has written four children’s books, said on her website that the book was the first she ever made.
‘I worked on it for years while working as an actor in New York,’ she said.
‘It’s a story about the transformative power of being fully seen, and recognized, by one who loves you. It’s also about dress-up, and mermaids.’
A group of women look stunning with their bedazzled faces and outfits at the 40th annual Mermaid Parade
Festive floats can be seen making their way down the parade route in Coney Island followed by marchers dancing under the hot sun among crowds cheering from the sidewalk at the event
A line of parade goers dance down the streets of Brooklyn to celebrate the return of the Mermaid Parade
Founded in 1983, the Mermaid Parade depicted in the book pays tribute to a century of Coney Island ‘ingenuity, revelry, and pageantry by celebrating the artistic vision of the masses,’ the event’s website reads.
The book falls under the social and emotional learning curriculum in the Darien Public Schools and was selected ‘to support the acceptance and unconditional love of differences,’ Superintendent Alan Addley said.
Shortly after the October 25 meeting, Addley referred concerned parents to the October 13 Curriculum Committee meeting in his weekly email.
In that curriculum meeting, Director of Elementary Education Julie Droller said teachers referred to the Teachers College units of reading and writing study and other trusted sources such as the American Library Association and literary awards when determining elementary school readings.
Social emotional learning books are chosen by curriculum teams and guided by library media specialists.
‘We’re focusing now, as is Teachers College, on authorship and our books and wanting the books in our classroom libraries to be mirrors where students see themselves and their lives and also learn about others in the world,’ Droller said.
After evaluating the book, the district curriculum team determined ‘Julian Is a Mermaid’ will continue to be an option when teaching lessons about acceptance and will remain in circulation in school libraries.
The memo to parents, after listing reasons why the book will remain available, also addressed parents’ concerns about the young protagonist’s brief appearance in underwear, referencing Mowgli in ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Captain Underpants’ as popular examples of semi-dressed characters in children’s literature.
Darien Public Schools will hold a parent workshop on social emotional learning in December.