A number of childrens’ books have recently been pulled from the shelves of Singapore’s public libraries due to their depiction of LGBT people and same sex parenting.

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On Tuesday the National Library Board withdrew two titles from its shelves: ‘And Tango Makes Three’ by Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell and Henry Cole, and ‘The White Swan Express’ by Jean Davies Okimoto.

‘And Tango Makes Three’ is based on the true story of two males penguins raised in Central Park Zoo, who successfully hatch and raise a chick together. ‘The White Swan Express’ follows the adoption of four overseas adopters, including a lesbian couple.

The move to ban the books followed a complaint from Teo Kai Loon, a member of the Facebook group ‘We Are Against Pinkdot in Singapore’. Pinkdot is Singapore’s annual LGBTI Festival.

Loon posted to the Facebook group announcing that the NLB had responded to his complaint after two days, and included a transcript of the email they had sent in response, which read in part:

“I would like to assure you that NLB takes a strong pro-family stand in selecting books for children. We take a cautious approach in identifying titles for our young visitors. ”

“We have withdrawn the books Tango Makes Three and the White Swan Express following your feedback. …when library visitors like yourself highlight to us any conflicting content within books, we review such books thoroughly and withdraw them from circulation.”

Author Adeline Lee made the following comments regarding the books being pulled. ““Some parents may not be ready to answer questions that their children may have on the stories. Other parents or educators may welcome it as a chance to teach the children about something they find difficult to address. Writing to the NLB to request the books’ removal denies the latter group a coachable moment, so it is a pity.”

The Strait Times has since reported that three more books have been pulled for failing to align with the NLB’s “pro-family” stance.

The Books in question are by American author Robie H. Harris, and feature sex education content aimed at Children aged four and above.

‘It’s Not the Stork’. aimed at ages four and above, discusses where babies come from, the physical differences between boys and girls, as well as covering different types of families, including those with same sex parents.

‘It’s So Amazing’ goes into more depth about reproduction in a level aimed at children seven and above. It also discusses different types of love, between family and friends and between couples, including homosexual couples. It also explains miscarriages, adoptions and abortions.

‘It’s Perfectly Normal’, aimed at children ten and over, discusses sexual desire and orientation, being straight and being gay and also provides information on masturbation, birth control, and staying safe on the internet.

Harris’ books were allegedly removed from the NLB’s collection in April after repeated email complaints from the public. At least two petitions have been started called for the books to be reinstated.

One was started by student Lim Jialiang, local writer Ng Yi-Sheng and PhD student Liyan Chen. It read in part: “The books above help to broach a highly sensitive subject to children, allowing them to understand that there are different versions of what it means to be a ‘family'”

Mr Lim told the Straits Times that he felt the NLB was “many steps backwards” when it banned the books from their collection.

“”I understand that the books are offensive to some, but offence is never good grounds for censorship. One can simply choose… not to borrow the books,” he said.

The petition has collected over 3000 signatures.

Dr. Khoo Kim Choo, who works in the early childhood field, said that teaching children about sex is important. “”Sex is a natural process, and shouldn’t be seen as dirty or bad,” she said, adding that children that age often question where they came from.

“But children should read such sex education books with their parents or teachers or an adult,”

But it may be too early to discuss homosexuality with young children” said Dr. Khoo.

Mother of two Wong Li Wah said parents should face realities when it comes to discussing sexual orientation with their children.

“if my children pick up a book like that, I hope to be able to sit them down and talk about it because I’ll have to face it sooner or later as a parent.” she said.

Sophie Joske