Julianne Moore said that she was “stunned” and “saddened” to learn that one of her children’s books has been banned in schools run by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Moore, the actor known for her roles in films including Far From Heaven and The Hours, went on Instagram to react to the news that her 2007 picture book, Freckleface Strawberry, illustrated by LeYuen Pham, has been removed from Pentagon schools.
The Guardian reported last week that the Department of Defense told parents that it was reviewing books “potentially related to gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology topics” and that students would not have library access for a week while the books were being reviewed.
Moore’s book, about a young girl learning to accept her freckles, was among the books under review, along with No Truth Without Ruth, written by Kathleen Krull and illustrated by Nancy Zhang, a children’s book about the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
On Instagram, Moore wrote, “It is galling for me to realize that kids like me, growing up with a parent in the service and attending a [Department of Defense] school will not have access to a book written by someone whose life experience is so similar to their own. And I can’t help but wonder what is so controversial about this picture book that [caused] it to be banned by the US Government. I am truly saddened and never thought I would see this in a country where freedom of speech and expression is a constitutional right.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
