This has just been sent to me and I am still pondering what, if any, action to take.

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I am a teacher at Tarsus American College in Tarsus Turkey.  Last week the inspectors from the Turkish Department of Education came to our school and after reading one paragraph of your book, Number the Stars, banned the book at our school.  As an American I was appalled.  The book had been taught in English and Turkish on the seventh and eighth grade level.  At a teacher’s meeting, after the inspectors had left, the English and Turkish teachers tried to protest but they were dismissed by the principal, Sidika Albayrak.  I have checked the internet to see if this book has been banned anywhere else and I could not find any information that supports this banning by the Turkish Department of Education.  I would like to protest this banning and I would suggest that you could register a complaint with the American Ambassador, James F. Jeffries or the US government because in my opinion the pulling of your book was the worst form of censorship.  The inspectors did not read your book and they did not complete any kind of written analysis where they cited objectionable parts.  In my opinion, their actions were capricious and unfounded.