Calgary's Catholic School Board is pulling "The Golden Compass" from school shelves -- a children's fantasy novel that criticizes strict religious dogma and encourages readers to keep an open mind.

A board spokesperson said the book has not been banned, but will be placed under review after the Christmas break.

"At this point, as a precaution, we've removed it from the shelves out of respect for the parents who have expressed concern," Judy MacKay told CTV Calgary.

The book's author, Philip Pullman, is an atheist.

The award-winning book was first published in 1995 and is part of a trilogy, but a movie version starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig is opening this Friday.

"The Golden Compass" had apparently been available at the board's school libraries for several years, but no parents had complained until recently.

Ontario's Halton Catholic District School Board yanked the novel from its library shelves about two weeks ago.

However, Halton students can still obtain the book by request.

Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary has said the board shouldn't be pulling the novel, with Catholics facing more pressing issues than a children's book.

The Catholic League in the United States has urged a boycott of the movie.

Some of Pullman's detractors think his work is either anti-religion in general or anti-Catholic in particular. Others merely say it's anti-establishment.

Britain's Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head of the Anglican Church, has supported Pullman's books and counts himself as a fan.

The storyline of "The Golden Compass" describes the adventures of a 12-year-old English girl named Lyra who ends up going to the Arctic and then the edge of another universe where she engages in a battle of good versus evil.

In June, an online vote selected "The Golden Compass" as the best children's book of the last 70 years. The other competitors were also winners of the Carnegie Medal for children's literature.

With a report from CTV Calgary