PITTSTON, Maine — A parent is demanding answers from Pittston-Randolph Consolidated School after a 5-year-old kindergartener brought home an LGBTQ-themed picture book from the school library, reigniting a debate that has turned school shelves into a national political battleground.
The book, Prince & Knight by author Daniel Haack, is a fairy-tale story in which a prince rejects potential princesses, teams up with a male knight, defeats a dragon, and later marries the knight. In a message shared publicly, the parent said the book is inappropriate for young children and criticized the school for allowing it to circulate to kindergarten students without explicit parental notice or an opt-out process.
The parent’s objection comes as school libraries across the country have become a flash point over what materials are appropriate for minors, with disputes increasingly centered on books featuring sexual content, LGBTQ themes, and other topics parents say don’t belong in elementary classrooms.
The American Library Association listed Prince & Knight as the No. 5 most challenged book of 2019, noting complaints that it includes LGBTQIA+ content and depicts a gay marriage.
Book challenges and removals have surged in recent years, with PEN America reporting 6,870 instances of book bans during the 2024–2025 school year across 23 states and 87 public school districts and part of a broader wave of disputes over school library and classroom materials.
