The 1,000-page novel by Norman Mailer follows the story of murderer Gary Gilmore from his crime spree to his execution by firing squad. It is up to school districts to determine whether the books' themes are appropriate for students' age groups, said Amy Wemark, Accelerated Reader product manager. The program created by Wisconsin-based Renaissance Learning is used in 50,000 American schools. In Cobb, like many school systems, book choices are made by individual schools. The difficulty in screening the content of books comes through simple math.
Most middle schools have one librarian, who orders hundreds of books each year.
To avoid mistakes, national reading expert Deanna Birdyshaw said school districts should cross-reference book lists, comparing those that measure text difficulty with those by the American Library Association or other organizations that consider content. Districts should have no trouble finding challenging books that avoid age-inappropriate themes, said Birdyshaw, a member of the Adolescent Literacy Commission for the International Reading Association. She cited the novels of the Bronte sisters, which offer difficult language and sophisticated subjects. Tom Higgins, assistant superintendent of middle schools, said the district has to tread carefully. Particularly in high school, books are challenged by parents once they become required reading.