The error was reportedly discovered when a 12-year-old child at a rural school close to the town of Rio Bueno in southern Chile picked the book from the shelf of the school library, and then told a teacher about its disturbing contents.
The 65-page book is entitled 'Caperucita se Come al Lobo,' meaning 'Little Red Riding Hood Eats the Wolf. It comprises six erotic short stories, which include rape scenes and sexual encounters between a teacher and a student.
"I assume someone accidentally sent this book," said Luis Reyes, mayor of Rio Bueno.
The school in Rio Bueno was sent 17 copies of the book for the new school year, which was also sent to 282 more primary schools across the country.
"As a mayor and a teacher, I am worried. It is not about being more Catholic than the Pope, but you must ask if the children are ready. I understand that this is a book, a work of art, but we don’t want complaints from parents," said Reyes.
Autora de 'Caperucita se come al lobo': "Retirar libros como el mío es contraproducente" https://t.co/ahqUu7e8zP pic.twitter.com/NMgwKoJeOv
— La Tercera (@latercera) 31 октября 2015
Author of 'Little Red Riding Hood Eats the Wolf': Removing books like mine is counterproductive.
The book was written by Colombian author Pablo Quintano, and published in 2012. Quintano told La Tercera that though he agreed the book was not suitable for children, he did not believe it should be withdrawn from schools in response to the furore, and could be read by those aged 15 or 16.
"'Little Red Riding Hood Eats the Wolf' is a collection of short stories that talk about desire, jealousy, abuse and violence. No, it is not suitable as children's literature."
"I think it's ok to come to school and I think would have been appropriate for ages 15 to 16. Young people could connect with a book of this nature. In Colombia I have read some of these stories in schools and from these readings interesting discussions were generated about machismo, the role of women, sexuality, violence and abuse."
"I'm surprised that people were shocked about the sexual content of the book, but don't say a word about the violence," said the author.
