The school board in Surrey, B.C., says it has banned three books about same-sex parents not because of anti-gay sentiment, but for other reasons, including poor grammar.

Six years ago, the school board had banned the three books – Belinda's Bouquet, Asha's Mums and One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads – because they dealt with same-sex parents.

The Supreme Court of Canada later told the board to review its decision and look at the books using the criteria they'd use to approve any other books.

Mary Polak

The board came to the same conclusion Thursday night, but for different reasons this time.

"This story has problems with punctuation and grammar throughout. The spelling of 'favourite' is inconsistent, switching from the Canadian to the American," said board chair Mary Polak about Asha's Mums.

The board also criticized the book's depiction of men.

From "One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads"

Belinda's Bouquet was rejected because it raised the subject of dieting.

"To discuss the issue of dieting as it relates to body image is risky at this age, and I think clumsily handled in this story," said Polak.

The board rejected One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads because it said it made fun of skin colours and dealt too much with sexual orientation for its intended audience of kindergarteners.

James Chamberlain, a kindergarten teacher who tried to bring Asha's Mums into his class six years ago, says he wasn't surprised by the board's ruling, but says the reasons are weak.

"The board is grasping at straws, dreaming up criteria six years after the fact," he said.

Polak said the board's criteria for selecting books are very tough.

"Very few materials are selected to be on the approved list for curriculum. Most books are not," she said.

Some teachers and parents questioned whether any other books had ever been scrutinized as these three were.

Kim Forrester, a lesbian with children in Surrey schools, says the board missed the point of the books, which is to make kids such as hers feel normal.

She says the board should have taken the time to hear how her children feel.

"How they feel excluded, how they feel marginalized, and how they've never been able to honour and respect our family because they were so fearful," said Forrester.

The Surrey school board says it's not against books involving homosexual parents and is now looking for books that depict gay parents that are appropriate for its kindergarten and Grade 1 classes.