By Staff Reporter |

An Arizona mother went viral after objecting to a Phoenix Public Library storytime featuring a book she says encourages children to discuss their underwear with strangers.

Ms. Manjarrez posted a video to social media questioning why a public library would read a book encouraging preschool children to show off their underwear to strangers. Manjarrez said the book was “What Color Is Your Underwear?” by Sam Lloyd, first published in 2004. 

In the book, animal characters lift up their clothes to reveal their underwear; at the end of the book, the final character is revealed to not be wearing any underwear at all. 

“Why is it anybody’s business on what color underwear you have on, whether you’re adult or especially a child?” asked Manjarrez in her video. 

Manjarrez claimed she was the only parent who left the storytime before it was over.  

“I can’t be the only parent that got up and thought that was a completely inappropriate book for kids,” said Manjarrez. 

A user, Mou Isabelle Phung, claimed in a comment that her molester used an underwear-exposure conversation similar to what the book portrays to molest her for the first time. Multiple other users attested in their comments that something similar happened to them.

“My first experience of a sexual encounter was me being five years old and being asked what color my underwear was so take that as you will,” said Phung.

A staff member at the Phoenix Public Library branch where the storytime occurred, Burton Barr Central Library, reportedly told Manjarrez that their literacy outreach librarian, Grethcen Wetter, coordinates storytimes.

A representative with Phoenix Public Library, Wendy Resnik, later told Manjarrez in an email that the book was “age-appropriate” and “lighthearted,” and intended only to “teach colors, animal identification, and prediction skills.” 

“Although the title can sound surprising out of context, the content is silly, playful, and widely enjoyed by many families,” said Resnik. “The humor is entirely innocent and geared toward toddlers, focusing on silly visuals like a frog in green briefs or a horse in red boxers.”

It is unclear whether Resnik used AI to craft the email, or simply never reviewed the book herself. The book doesn’t depict a frog wearing green briefs, and nowhere does the word “briefs” appear in the book, though the first page does depict a horse wearing red boxers. The closest depiction to a frog in the book is the turtle character, depicted wearing purple underwear. AI is known for hallucinating information in its responses.

Resnik, wife of 12News political reporter Brahm Resnik, has served as the youth services coordinator for Phoenix Public Library for over 14 years. 

Manjarrez stated in the caption of a video sharing the email that Resnik’s response greatly concerned her.

“I’m f——- livid because out of all the ways [to] teach children colors she thinks it’s acceptable to teach children colors through the colors of their damn underwear?” said Manjarrez.

Arizona Women of Action (AWOA) issued a statement on Manjarrez’s video, agreeing with the mother’s assessment of the book as problematic. 

“Parents must speak up and demand accountability,” stated AWOA. “Protecting children’s innocence isn’t optional — it’s our responsibility.” 

According to the library’s calendar, one of the city of Phoenix’s four Families First Resource Centers (FFRC) hosted the storytime. The center uses the Scholastic company’s Read and Rise programming to source the books, reportedly designed for children ranging in age from birth to five. 

Phoenix’s FFRCs rely on grant funding from First Things First (FTF), the organization funded by the state through the approximately $150 million a year it collects from taxes on tobacco products. 

FTF is run by its statewide board whose members are appointed by the governor, the Arizona Early Childhood Development and Health Board, and volunteers through 28 regional partnership councils. 

The Phoenix South Regional Partnership Council, which oversees the area containing the Burton Barr Central Library branch, received nearly $17 million this fiscal year and the last, of which nearly $2 million was allotted to family resource centers.

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