An Arizona mom said she was so disturbed by a book being read during a children’s storytime at a Phoenix library that she grabbed her daughter and walked away. She raised concerns about the book in a recent post on Instagram and urged viewers to email the company behind the reading to complain. The video is now going viral due to the outrage it has generated over the book being read to young children.
The woman said she took her daughter to Burton Barr Central Library in downtown Phoenix to escape the heat and enjoy the library’s storytime event. Everything seemed normal at first, according to her, until the person reading to the children pulled out a book titled What Color Is Your Underwear?
The mother said the book upset her so much that she didn’t even make it past the third page before deciding to get up and leave with her daughter. “Why is a book about dinosaurs talking about, guess what color my underwear is? If you think it’s blue, it’s not. And it’s like the dinosaur lifting up her dress. It’s cherry red. Like I’m not making this up,” she said in the video.
She claimed she was the only parent who walked out and wondered if the rest did not think it was an issue. “All of them look like gentle parents,” the mom said. “All of them look like, ‘oh, well, they just don’t know better.’ Oh, they don’t know. Like, no, they know… I can’t be the only parent that got up and thought that was a completely inappropriate book for kids. Am I tripping?”
She said she later spoke with an employee in the children’s section to complain and was told that the person reading to the children was from an outside company hired to conduct storytime sessions and was not a Phoenix Library employee. She said she was given an email to send her complaints to and asked viewers to join her.
Netizens’ Reaction to the Arizona Mom’s Complaints
Many people in the comments under her post agreed with the mother that the book was not appropriate for children. “Annnnnnd that’s how grooming starts,” one netizen remarked. Another wrote, “That is a wild book to read to young children.” A third said, “You have every right to be disturbed, that is absolutely disgusting.” Someone else asked, “In what world is this acceptable for children?? Why are books that are being read to children not being vetted first?”
Several others praised her for removing her daughter from that situation. “That’s so inappropriate! You were right to leave and protect your child!” one comment read. Another added, “Good on you for leaving, and good on you for following through and complaining!!”
A few also criticized the other parents for not seeming as concerned. One person commented, “Are the other parents completely checked out?? That’s so predatory.”
According to its description on Amazon, What Color Is Your Underwear? is a lift-the-flap children’s book that uses animals and their underwear to teach colors and encourage children to laugh and interact with the story.
