On Thursday morning, the Abilene City Council voted 6-1 in favor of accepting the Kitty-Corn/Unicorn Sculpture as a part of the Storybook series in Abilene. This comes as no shock to the members of the Visual Arts Jury who accepted this sculpture’s design just a few weeks ago.

Members of the public had a chance to comment about the acceptance of the statue by city council, and a fair number of people came out to have their voices heard. Over 30 people spoke at the city council meeting with many of those people in favor of the sculpture.

In the words of Councilman Kyle McAlister, “the majority has spoken.”

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For those against the acceptance of the sculpture, their arguments ranged from accusing the book of grooming young children to the books’ alleged promotion of transgender ideals, or simply that the city should select a less controversial book.

One member of the public cited the book as being pro-gender transitioning and promoting a celebration of claiming identities and affirming new ones, while some members were concerned that the Kitty-Corn book is on numerous LGBTQ+ Rainbow lists for accepted reading. They also gave an ominous warning that the city of Abilene should have stopped the process when the first red flag was raised, and that the controversy will continue even after the city council meeting today.

The sole member of the opposition on city council was Councilman Blaise Regan who referenced an interview with author of the book, Shannon Hale. In the interview, Councilman Regan noted that most of the author’s responses centered on the fact that “this is a transgender book;” and, that the sculptures in the Adamson-Spalding Storybook Garden “should embody what the community agrees upon.” In this vein, the councilman noted that overall, this is a very controversial issue, and that the city should instead “focus on things that unify us.”

For those in support of the acceptance of the Kitty-Corn statue, the overwhelming responses were that the book was more about imagination and friendship, and not transgender issues. The upcoming holiday of Halloween was referenced several times as a time of pretend, and that is okay to pretend to be something you are not without having a nefarious plan behind it.

Members of the public were particularly passionate about the whole issue and emphasized that everyone has a right to their own opinion. They also pointed out that this controversy has caused a lot of unnecessary diversion from what is important. Members of the public noted that Visual Arts Jury chose an illustrator who is diverse and celebrates love and friendship.

Overall, the majority of city council voted in support of the acceptance of the Kitty-Corn Statue with Councilman McAlister noting that the overall community response was positive. He remarked that he had received over 50 positive emails just before the city council meeting, and that with 23 speakers in favor (as opposed to 6 in protest), the majority had spoken.

Councilman Shane Price went on to say that overall, the Adamson-Spalding Storybook Garden is a “way to promote Abilene,” and that imagination is healthy in helping children to be empathetic to others.

Overall, whether you are for or against the Kitty-Corn/Unicorn statue, it will be joining the Adamson-Spalding Storybook Garden in 2024 and will hopefully help to promote our beautiful city of Abilene as the Storybook Capital of America®.