Australian children’s author Mem Fox hits back at ‘pitiful’ book ban

A book by renowned Australian children’s author Mem Fox has been banned in Florida over alleged “pornography”, a move the author describes as “pitiful”.

Australian children’s author Mem Fox has hit back at allegations one of her books is ‘pornographic’. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

A children’s book written by renowned Aussie author Mem Fox and published 35 years ago has been banned in the US state of Florida over allegations of “pornography”.

Fox said she “howled with laughter” when her literary agent told her that her 1988 picture book Guess What? had been banned in Duval County.

Mem Fox’s 1988 picture book Guess What? has been banned in Florida.

It is the latest in a slew of titles – predominantly those with LGBTQIA+ or culturally diverse themes – to be removed from school libraries because they are deemed not age-appropriate under the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.

The scene that triggered the ban shows the book’s main character, “old witch” Daisy O’Grady, taking a bath “in an old laundry trough”.

“It’s pitiful, isn’t it? It’s like, the Americans keep killing each other with guns and then they do things like this as well,” Fox told ABC Radio Adelaide.

“You just feel sorry for them, you just think, ‘People, you’re so unsophisticated, you’re so pitiful.’”

Fox, whose children’s books are legendary in Australia, says ‘Guess What?’ is completely appropriate. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Guess What? was banned under the new Parental Rights in Education Act, which was signed by Florida’s Republican Governor Ron De Santis in 2022 and has been dubbed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law.

The Act banned classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in public schools across the state and saw many strip their libraries in fear of facing a prison sentence.

Under section 847.012 of the Florida statutes, materials prohibited include: “Any picture … or visual representation of a person or a portion of a human body which depicts nudity or sexual conduct, sexual excitement, sexual battery, bestiality, or sadomasochistic abuse and which is harmful to minors.”

Basically, books must be age appropriate and free of pornography – but what that specifically means remains up for debate. And a person who fails to comply with the law could face up to five years in prison.

In the controversial illustration that reportedly got Guess What? banned shows Daisy sitting in a double bowl sink filled with water, wearing a scuba mask. She is nude, although her legs and a towel cover her breasts and genitalia.

This picture, from an Australian illustrated children's book by lauded Australian author Mem Fox, has been deemed pornography in Duval Country, Florida.
What a joke!! pic.twitter.com/uq97fjKBUW

— Tee 🌹☮️❤️ why vote No. I say Yes! (@t_inker58) May 16, 2023

But Fox – who has written many of Australia’s favourite children’s books, including the country’s highest-seller Possum Magic and Where Is The Green Sheep? – has defended her “ancient” book, telling ABC Radio Adelaide “it’s completely appropriate”.

“She’s washing herself, she’s sort of sitting in this sink, you can’t see any of her private parts at all,” Fox said.

“The whole book is about guessing who this person is, it turns out to be a witch in the end.”

At last count, the Florida Freedom to Read Project (FFTRP) recorded more than 1100 banned books across the state.

Among them include iconic titles like The Handmaid’s Tale, by esteemed novelist Margaret Atwood, and Khaled Hosseini’s critically acclaimed debut novel The Kite Runner.