The Golden Sower is Tarnished
Parents-these aren't the kind of books you remember
All Nebraskans are familiar with the bronze statue of “The Sower” who is forever planting seeds above the golden dome of the beautiful state Capitol building. He continually reminds our elected Representatives, or those who care to ponder it, that we are a state created by and for agriculture. Many generations have been proud of our heritage and many still talk about being the 5th, 6th or even 7th generation to work their family farm or ranch. The National Historic Landmark Capitol building was built from 1922-1932, and the central tower can be visualized for 20 miles across the plains. For the out-of-staters reading this, here are the perspective views of our Sower.
Most Nebraska school children are familiar with the Golden Sower Award book program. Begun in 1981 by 2 professors of Elementary Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, it was a program to encourage literacy by having children across the state reading the same books, curated by the voting public, to spark the imagination.
The bronze statue on the top of the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln was the inspiration for the naming of the award. Just as The Sower sows seeds, symbolizing the agriculture, life and prosperity of the state, the award seeks to sow seeds of literacy in children by encouraging them to read.
It was a lovely idea. Today’s parents grew up with Golden Sower books in their classrooms. Teachers frequently ask for Golden Sower titles as Christmas gifts. Over the years, categories were added so that Golden Sower titles extend from kindergarten to high school.
In 1983, the overall winner was “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” by Judy and Ron Barrett. That title has stood the test of time.
Times have changed.
The Golden Sower Award became affiliated with the Nebraska Library Association in 1985.
In 2022, NLA officially retained their long-standing rights to the award and elevated the Golden Sower Committee to a standing committee. This provided oversight and accountability to the award.
It also provided Wokeness.
The NLA is the Nebraska Chapter of the American Library Association. The American Library Association is famous for its Marxism. From August 2023:
"I just cannot believe that a Marxist lesbian who believes that collective power is possible to build and can be wielded for a better world is the president-elect of @ALALibrary," Emily Drabinski (formerALA President) wrote in a post, which has since been deleted. "I am so excited for what we will do together. Solidarity! And my mom is SO PROUD!”
Several states cut ties with the ALA due to the organization’s political pandering. Nebraska remains affiliated. Parents are finding some of the Golden Sower books are reflecting the views of a “Marxist lesbian” much more than they reflect the views of the typical Nebraska family.
The 2024-2025 Golden Sower winners in 3 categories did not have many reasons for parents to be concerned. One of the runner-up chapter books called “Across the Desert” tells the story of a 12-year-old protagonist who describes her struggles with her single mother’s opioid addiction, and online reviewers called it “boring,” so maybe that one is a matter of taste.
However, teachers and librarians are quick to recommend the entire panel of finalists. One mother looked into the books her first-grader would have read to his class at library time throughout this school year. She wrote a letter, and sent it by email, to the teacher. (Email quotes are lightly edited for brevity and clarity)
Good Evening,
My son came home with a Golden Sower book list. I was hoping you might explain to me who developed this list. I have to ask, did you read about these books and the intent of the stories before reading them in class?
My goal is not to be accusatory, but I have gone through 5 of the books and will likely work through the others. I’ll be honest and tell you I am absolutely appalled by these choices, especially for first graders.
I do not see positive lessons coming from these books and in many respects they are normalizing or promoting lifestyle and parental decisions that I strongly disagree with.
How is purposefully leading an innocent kitten into dangerous and scary situations a positive lesson for first-graders? How do we teach kids that when a cow decides it is something other than a cow, that it is sound logic? Why are we promoting literature from Muslim activists and children swept into the social justice movement? Why are we suggesting being disrespectful to our parents is funny or cute? And why are we including the normalization of same-sex marriages for first-graders?
If people want to read these books on their own time, fine, but why is this going on in a public school?
The teacher referred Mrs. Parent to Ms. Librarian. Ms. Librarian responded:
Thank you for your input and letting me know there are certain books that you would prefer your son not read. This is totally your choice as a parent as all books within the library are completely optional and a library is a place to offer many choices. The Golden Sower books are award winning books selected by a committee of librarians, not by me. Please let me know if you would like your son to have a different activity during read aloud time. (Ms. Librarian offers a link to the Golden Sower committee for suggestions.)
Mrs. Parent interpreted Ms. Librarian’s message thusly:
The experts know better than you. You are a bigot and we are inclusive. We will be reading these books aloud to your son’s class. That is not optional. We will be happy to ostracize him and tell him it’s your fault. Go ahead and complain to the committee if you want to waste your time.
(Editor’s note: Most parents will fold as soon as school personnel pull out the “isolate the child” card. No doubt they have staff training on how to do this in a passive-aggressive tone. “It is totally your choice” when it is clearly NOT the choice of the parent. It is a tactic that is universally applied to “troublesome” parents. Fear of retribution to one’s child is how parents have been cowed into accepting unacceptable curriculum for years. Ask yourself if your child should be dropped off daily into an environment you are afraid to question.)
Mrs. Parent was not deterred:
I understand the Golden Sower nominations, we had those even when I was in school. As a child there is no scrutiny. As adults, and especially adults responsible for the hearts and minds of young and impressionable children, I would expect greater scrutiny, no matter where the recommendations are coming from. I will certainly reach out to the committee to express the specific objections and questions I presented as well. I am genuinely interested in understanding the explanation.
I also appreciate having the option to protect my child from questionable literature. However, I feel the presented solution would make my son feel singled out and be experienced as a punishment. Therefore, I would request an email containing the titles and authors of books that are read to his class so that I may review them and discuss them with my son as needed. To him, “Poopsie Gets Lost” has a cute cat in it, and that is the part that stuck with him. It’s important to me to have the opportunity to explain to him that leading someone into dangerous situations isn’t cute, and if someone tries to do so to him, he needs to not listen to them, even if they make it sound like fun.
Ms. Principal then responded:
I have attached the list of titles to this email for your reference. Ms. Teacher and I are open to meeting with you regarding how to proceed if there are books you prefer not to have read to your son.
Mrs. Parent plans to meet with them. She is not concerned about the books read by Ms. Teacher. She is concerned about the judgment of Ms. Librarian.
“Why can’t they just choose better books? This is ridiculous,” laments Mrs. Parent.
Related Article- Scholastic Books: The Bud Light of Children’s Publishing
by Sue Greenwald M.D. The author is a founding member of Nebraska Education Coalition.