Controversial Books in K-12 Classrooms and Libraries: Challenged, Censored, and Banned analyzes the history of controversy surrounding assigned reading in K-12 classrooms and books available in school libraries. Randy Bobbitt outlines the history of book banning and controversy in the United States, stemming from 1950s conservative Cold War values of patriotism and respect for authority and ramping up through the 1960s and onward as media coverage and parental intervention into the inner workings of schools increased. The author claims that sensitive topics, including sexuality, suicide, and drug use, do not automatically imply the glorification of deviant behavior, but can be used constructively to educate students about the reality of life. Bobbitt argues that in an effort to shield children from the dangers of controversial issues, parents and administrators are depriving them of the ability to discover and debate values that are inconsistent with their own and those around them, teaching instead that avoidance of different viewpoints is the solution. Scholars of education, communication, literature, and policy will find this book especially useful.

This reader of Virgil's text features passages from the second half of the Aeneid and is designed to help students understand and appreciate Virgil's poem, as well as improve their Latin reading skills. Each Latin passage is accompanied by running vocabulary, on-page commentary notes and targeted questions. The book can be used as a source of one-off unseen passages or as a reader for students working through individual books or the whole poem. The commentary notes explain references to characters, places and events, provide linguistic and grammatical help on more challenging Latin phrases, and point out stylistic features. The questions test students' comprehension of the characters and storyline, and give them practice in handling literary terms. The passages are linked by summaries of the continuing plot, so students can grasp the progression of the poem as a whole. An introduction sets the story of the Aeneid in its mythological, literary and historical context and includes a glossary of literary devices and essays explaining the principles of Virgil's word order and metre. At the end of the book is a complete alphabetical vocabulary list.