First, we tell kids not to imitate bunnies in their habit of multiplication, now ….

A woman in Halsey, Oregon, doesn’t like a book her 13-year-old son checked out of the local library and so has announced she will burn it. According to this report from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Taffey Anderson says the problem is that the book, The Book of Bunny Suicides, is “not funny. Not at all.” She also says if the library replaces the book, she’ll have a friend check it out and she won’t return that one, either. The library, meanwhile, says she should file a complaint and they’ll review her criticism, but Anderson says she’s “disgusted by the whole ordeal.” This is not the first report of fear that children will emulate the bunnies in the book. The Post-Intelligencer reports that “in Shanghai, China, a bookseller pulled it last month after reports that several children had attempted suicide, with at least one boy dying.”

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.

bob field

Don’t be such a worry wart, it is extremely funny
bob field

Don’t be such a worry wart, it is extremely funny
Fidel Castro

Geez, what a bunch of book-burning nazis. If they don’t want their kids reading those books then they should check what books their kids are taking out of the library. If their kids commit suicide it’s their fault as shitty parents, not the book’s fault.
Fidel Castro

Geez, what a bunch of book-burning nazis. If they don’t want their kids reading those books then they should check what books their kids are taking out of the library. If their kids commit suicide it’s their fault as shitty parents, not the book’s fault.
Katherine Jackson

That woman must be crazy. “The Book of Bunny Suicides” is very funny, if a little gross sometimes. If children are attempting suicide, there has obviously already been a previous issue, and it’s pathetic that parents would tack the blame on a book after failing to pay attention to their children. I can’t believe that a woman would take a book out of a library to burn. This is far to extreme for an insulting book, no matter how bad it may seem. This woman needs therapy.
Katherine Jackson

That woman must be crazy. “The Book of Bunny Suicides” is very funny, if a little gross sometimes. If children are attempting suicide, there has obviously already been a previous issue, and it’s pathetic that parents would tack the blame on a book after failing to pay attention to their children. I can’t believe that a woman would take a book out of a library to burn. This is far to extreme for an insulting book, no matter how bad it may seem. This woman needs therapy.
Parker Evans

this is bull shit, i have read those books and yes they are funny, this mom is too over protective, i feel sorry for the kid who has to deal with the hag. Oh and if I was a chinese kid that had to deal with the education system they have there i would probably commit suicide as well. the books are harmless, I could see a book giving somone a paper cut, but not a complete decapitation or a disembowlment
Parker Evans

this is bull shit, i have read those books and yes they are funny, this mom is too over protective, i feel sorry for the kid who has to deal with the hag. Oh and if I was a chinese kid that had to deal with the education system they have there i would probably commit suicide as well. the books are harmless, I could see a book giving somone a paper cut, but not a complete decapitation or a disembowlment
YaoiQueen94

I’ve never read the book but can relate to be told what to read and whatnot. I love violence personally and can’t really see how a mere book could screw someone ever if they’re not the kind of people who believe everything they read. Give it break will ya? Literature is meant to be read not acted out.
YaoiQueen94

I’ve never read the book but can relate to be told what to read and whatnot. I love violence personally and can’t really see how a mere book could screw someone ever if they’re not the kind of people who believe everything they read. Give it break will ya? Literature is meant to be read not acted out.

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October 22, 2008