News Alert

United Press International, 3/18/2004: Wilmington, NC—A school library book checked out by a first-grader, in which a prince and a prince live happily ever after, has a North Carolina family upset.

 Michael and Tonya Hartsell of Wilmington read along with 7-year-old Olivia every weeknight before bed, but when they started reading her new book, “King & King” they were stunned at its content, the Wilmington Daily Star reported. Especially on an elementary school level.

 In the book, the queen tells her son he must get married and take over for the king, but the search for a spouse doesn’t go as expected. He waves off all the eligible princesses, falling instead for another prince and they are married. The last page has them kissing.

 The Hartsells are hanging onto the book until the school agrees to remove it from the elementary school. The school says it will look into the matter. The Hartsells, meanwhile, said they may move Olivia to another school.

Religion News Service, 3/12/04: Sex advice, music reviews and tips on looking good...no, it’s not the latest issue of GQ or Maxim. It’s the Bible—for the mind of a teenage guy. Refuel is the New Testament that looks like an entertainment magazine, and it hits secular and religious bookstores in April. Featuring quizzes and dating hints alongside the Word of God, Refuel caters to young Christian men who aren’t otherwise reading Scripture.

“It really was birthed from research we did that said teens don’t read the Bible because it’s too big and too intimidating,” said Laurie Whaley, a spokesperson for Thomas Nelson, Inc., the publisher of Refuel. “We removed the intimidation factor, so it’s fun—and it’s a Bible.” Refuel is written in a modern and easy-to-read translation, and is priced for a teen’s budget at $16.99. It features recommendations for Christian pop CDs and columns such as “Inside Her Head: Real Girls Give Their Opinions.”