DOUSMAN, Wis. (CBS 58) – A New York Times-bestselling middle-grade novel has proven to be controversial in the Kettle Moraine School District. School leaders have since decided to remove it from a community reading list because of parent concerns.

School leaders said the book “Wishtree” by Katherine Applegate was distributed to families for a voluntary at-home community read at Dousman Elementary.

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In a letter from Nov. 19, Superintendent Stepehen Plum and Chief Academic Officer Chris Otto said parents had some concerns with the book's content. They said the first reason was the way the main character, a tree, introduces itself as biologically male and female. The second reason was the storyline involving a religious minority family experiencing discrimination. The third reason was that the tree describes keeping secrets, which some families felt sent a message that was not appropriate for a schoolwide read.

“We take the concerns that families have raised seriously, and when questions arise about the appropriateness of a book or material, we use our established review process,” the letter read.

The book was suspended as a curriculum resource during the investigation. Christy DeMaster, a parent of students who previously attended Dousman Elementary, said she read the book.

“This tree starts to notice that this Muslim family is not being welcomed in the community, their daughter has a wish to find a friend,” DeMaster said. “The tone of the book was very optimistic. Really, the focus was on the fact that others in the community step up to help this family.”

At a school board meeting on Nov. 25, two parents told district leaders how they interpreted the novel.

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“That is deliberate indoctrination and gender-fluid and non-binary ideology,” one parent said. “When a wise, magical tree, the hero of the story, declares it can be any pronoun it wants, many children will think, ‘Maybe I can too.’ That’s a seed most families in this room never agreed to plant.”

In a second letter to parents on Nov. 26, district leaders said the review determined “Wishtree” will not be used as a one-book community read. The letter went on to state that if “Wishtree” had been recommended as a curricular resource, it would not have been approved by the district.

““It seems like we’re in this environment now where anybody who loves a good book and shares it is taking a risk that somebody is going to be offended and label them as trying to indoctrinate our kids,” DeMaster said. “I thought it was a really beautiful story. Kind of had me choked up a bit at the end. It’s about kindness and friendship and the people who help others.”

The book’s author, Katherine Applegate, shared the following statement with CBS 58 about the parent concerns in the Kettle Moraine School District:

“'Wishtree' is novel about compassion and community that’s been used in countless One School One book readings all over the country. If you don’t want your child to read it, that’s absolutely your right as a parent. But you cannot tell other parents what their children get to read.”