We'll both agree that the school library does not require the book. But we certainly do not agree on the long list of what you think the book encourages or teaches. It merely offers information about sexuality. I I don't think it's a dangerous book. Think for example of the porn that kids have had access to in recent years. This book is a better way to learn about sexuality. My view is that parents can address this topic at home. That said, the biology class in middle school should also address some basic aspects of sexuality, as this is part of a normal biology program. We're not in a country where the Taliban, or Putin, or others can dictate what kind of information we can access and which sexuality we must identify with. If a kid is confused because he likes boys more than he likes girls, perhaps he should ask his parents or read this book. The book is not a danger to anyone and will not make children gay, in my view. It doesn't argue for the awesomeness ot being gay, for example. None of us here know enough about child psychology to claim that a book like this can encouage kids to be LGBTQ+ or whatever they think they might be. They need good parenting to keep their personal life choices at home. To assume that the book does all that you claim it does is a tough sell. I appreciate the long, thoughtful list of arguments, which offer a good place to start with a discussion about this book. The simple fact is that: we cannot legislate morality, or indeed an individual's decision about his/her sexuality. We all want to learn about sexuality when we are younger (and kids like me didn't really understand sexuality in middle school, as curious as we were about girls, and no matter how often we looked at Playboy magazines - tells you a bit about my age). It's better to study in a thoughtful manner with basic books like this, and/or to work with one's parents, then to have NOTHING to read, or to have no discussion. The lack of information is what can harm a kid, who should never make desicions about serious personal matters from a position of ignorance or without consultation with their parents. Many kids don't want to talk to their parents about their sexuality. I would never recommend that they depend on guidance from friends, who also know very little at that time. This book seems to be a reasonable explanation in very simple terms, and I seriously doubt that it would change a kid's mind about his/her own sexuality. The book can, however, teach tolerance about the sexuality of one'e self and especially of others, and thereby save a kid from personal harm or harming others. What's really important is that these approaches to one's sexuality remain a private matter, and that this privacy is respected by others. This book and the minority of LGBTQ+ folks aren't a danger to child development, and more importantly, we all need to learn at an earliy age how to live with an increasingly complicated world.