Marc Aronson started an interesting discussion today at Nonfiction Matters when he asked, regarding middle-grade and YA biographies:

[W]hen we honor a hero who has risked everything to improve our lives, how much of his or her private life should we examine?

He was asking in reference to Harvey Milk, but his post and the ensuing conversation have touched on the Kennedys, Muhammad Ali, Ted Hughes, Martin Luther King, Leonardo da Vinci, Babe Didrikson, John Lennon, and Isaac Newton. So far, anyway — the night is young.

One note of caution, though — mention “sex” in your comment, and the School Library Journal naughty-bits filter will trash the whole thing. Some topics, it seems, are best left to books for the young.