We have it. I just skimmed through it, and thought it was a pretty engaging story that leaves plenty of room for discussion with older kids - there are The Bad Guys (who use the n-word), but there’s also a fairly nuanced portrait of white people in a Civil Rights era small town. They’re not all brave and good, but not all purely evil racists … I think it  could be a really useful read along with older kids who aren’t quite YA age yet.

That said, I’m really interested to hear others’ opinions.

-------------------------------

Meredith Sommers, MLIS

Reference Librarian

Bayliss Public Library

Superior District Library

541 Library Dr.

Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783

906.632.9331

From: michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org [mailto:michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org] On Behalf Of Margaret Crockett
Sent: Monday, April 18, 2016 4:42 PM
To: michlib-l@mcls.org
Subject: [Michlib-l] Collection Question

Does anyone have The Empty Schoolhouse by Natalie Savage Carlson in their junior fiction collection? It uses racist language and we wondered if anyone out there saw a reason for keeping it in their collection.