--- description: She says it's too graphic about issues of poverty title: Wisconsin School Board Member Wants to Ban a Muppets Book image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c94e064f7d44f53/698874ad8e060107ca463b18/kermit-the-frog.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Wisconsin School Board Member Wants to Ban a Muppets Book by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 9, 2015 8:55 PM CUT  Kermit on the set of ABC's The Muppets Kermit on the set of ABC's The MuppetsNicole Wilder—ABC/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 9, 2015 8:55 PM CUT A school board member in Marshfield, Wisc. is seeking to ban a 1993 Muppets book from her district’s kindergarten curriculum. The book, [_For Every Child, a Better World_](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0307156281/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), illustrates issues of global poverty like homelessness and hunger. Presented as being written “by Kermit the Frog,” “as told to Louise Gikow and Ellen Weiss,” it was written in collaboration with the United Nations. The book is meant to be read aloud in class to educate children about those who are less fortunate than themselves, but school board member Mary Carney calls it “too graphic” for young children, the Marshfield _News Herald_ reports. “Unfortunately in this world there is a lot of war and strife and poverty,” Carney said. “I understand that. I just don’t know how appropriate that is to be teaching that to 5-year-olds.” The community will meet on Wednesday to discuss Carney’s objection. School Board Vice President Amber Leifheit said she did not take issue with the book, saying, “I believe it shows compassion for people other than yourself. I think that’s a good thing.” \[[_Marshfield News Herald_](http://www.marshfieldnewsherald.com/story/news/education/2015/12/08/school-review-controversial-muppets-book/76989824/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4143470/wisconsin-school-board-ban-muppets-book/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4143470/wisconsin-school-board-ban-muppets-book/"},"headline":"Wisconsin School Board Member Wants to Ban a Muppets Book","datePublished":"2015-12-09T20:55:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:14:51.620Z","description":"She says it's too graphic about issues of poverty","url":"https://time.com/4143470/wisconsin-school-board-ban-muppets-book/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c94e064f7d44f53/698874ad8e060107ca463b18/kermit-the-frog.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c94e064f7d44f53/698874ad8e060107ca463b18/kermit-the-frog.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"kermit-the-frog","caption":"kermit-the-frog","creditText":"Nicole Wilder—ABC/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4143470/wisconsin-school-board-ban-muppets-book/","name":"Wisconsin School Board Member Wants to Ban a Muppets Book"}}]}] ```