Author speaks out as kids' bookstore owner bans book because of drawing she spotted in background of one page

Warning: This article contains discussion of discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community which some readers may find distressing.

The author of a children's novel banned from a US bookstore for including a queer-inclusive illustration has spoken out.

Ashley Benham Yazdani - the writer and illustrator of 2019 kids' book A Green Place To Be: The Creation of Central Park - took to Instagram last night (12 February) to issue a handful of statements on the controversy.

The hotly-debated drama came after children's bookstore owner Lindsey Vroegindewey revealed back in January that she'd made the decision to ban Yazdani's work, after spotting an LGBTQ+ friendly drawing in the background.

Making the announcement on social media, Vroegindewey - who owns Big Sky Life Books in Montana - could be seen in a video holding up the book and shaking her head to the backing track of Queen's 'Another One Bites The Dust'.

Vroegindewey went on to explain that the book's removal was due to an image that had been included in one of the pages, which showed two men getting married.

Followed by a thumb's down emoji, she continued: "If you look on the last page on the upper right, you’ll see a gay wedding ceremony.

"This does not meet our high standards of wholesome family values."

She then apologised for the 'oversight', before telling viewers: "If you purchased this book from us, please reach out!

"I have several copies left in my inventory. If you’d like a copy at half price, reach out to me. The image in the book is small and easily covered up. This is a good reminder for me to stay vigilant!"

The bookstore owner then concluded her post, writing: "Have a great day, everyone!"

Despite the ban having been implemented in January, backlash was sparked earlier this week when influencer and children's book author, Paul Castle, weighed in on the matter.

"Sadly, as is evident here with this video, these types of bookstores and this mentality, it exists," he said in a social media video.

"It's out there. It's not going away, and unfortunately, I think we're entering a time when we're gonna potentially see more of this."

As well as accumulating mass support for his stance, Castle's post also caught the attention of the book's author Yazdani, who has since broken her silence on the matter.

In a new video, the writer began by revealing she'd amassed hundreds of new followers since the story hit headlines earlier this week, before thanking Castle for making her aware of it.

Yazdani wrote in the caption: "Thank you again to @matthewandpaul and @paulcastlestudio for sending so much love my way.

"Love is love. Homophobia is wrong. I’m proud to stand up for LGBTQ rights and am grateful to see so many people standing alongside me.

"There is so much beautiful diversity in our world, and I am committed to sharing it in my books wherever possible."

Addressing Vroegindewey's take in the video, Yazdani described the ban as 'her choice', adding: "You know, my thought about that is that, A, it feels like, you know, censorship to pull this off of the shelves for that.

"B, it's homophobic, which is problematic. And C, you know, to have somebody look at a picture of a wedding, like, two people who love each other so much they want to spend their lives together and to feel anger at that, that's sad.

"That makes me sad for that bookseller to be honest - I wish that she could see that and feel joy instead, but she can't.

"And I can't change that and I can't put my book back on her shelves, and honestly, I wouldn't really want to, so, it's okay."

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected].