The Virginia public schools have approved 14 of her books, all of which are published by Five Ponds Press. Her children's books include Fire!, Emergency, [1] Oh Yuck! The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty, [2] [3] and Oh Yikes! History's Grossest Moments. [3]
Criticism of Our Virginia: Past and Present
In October 2010, a historian Carol Sheriff, who is a professor at the College of William and Mary, called into question Masoff's scholarship in writing a fourth grade textbook entitled, Our Virginia: Past and Present. Masoff wrote that thousands of slaves fought in the American Civil War on the side of the South, which is rejected by most historians. Masoff explained that Virginia state curriculum requires that the role of African Americans in the war be covered, so she used the internet to research the topic and found three sources. However, all three sources traced back to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, who do not believe that slavery caused the Civil War. Masoff said, "It's just one sentence. I don't want to ruffle any feathers, If the historians had contacted me and asked me to take it out, I would have." [3]
On October 21, the publisher of Our Virginia: Our Past and Present announced that it would distribute sticker labels that could be used to cover the disputed paragraph. [5] Subsequently, another error was spotted regarding a claim that brown bears live in the Blue Ridge Mountains, when in fact only black bears inhabit that area. [6] The publisher announced that both statements would be removed from the second edition of the book. [6]
School system reactions to the controversy varied. Loudoun County, public schools pulled Our Virginia: Past and Present from its classrooms, while neighboring Prince William County, although not using the book at the time, put it and five other Five Pond Press books under consideration. [6]
