Scholastic Book Fairs gone political

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having volunteered at these in the past. Kids regardless of race or ethnicity want to buy
1. toys and trinkets that parents don't want them wasting money on
2. books with popular characters from cartoons/tv/movie/youtube/tiktok are the focus
3. non fiction books with really good pictures and fun facts

And then the rest

so no kids aren't going there searching out books with diverse characters. They would much rather buy a sparkly pen or similar trinket. Now sure they might buy a book if an adult tells them to but it's not like the overwhelming majority of kids are going to seek out some serious books.

This might surprise you: Diverse kids like diverse books. And, yes, many kids look for books that they feel have characters who are relieve to them — however they might view themselves. They buy the crap, but some end up buying the crap because it’s inexpensive and because they can’t find any decent books to buy. And yes, that includes fiction too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I liked the book fairs. We used them to teach our kids to shop around. Give them a phone and let them scan the barcodes in Amazon to compare prices and they learn about markups

Be sure to teach them about fund raising and monopolistic companies as well. The book fair is a fund raiser not a bargain hunt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If what Scholastic is saying is true that their only choices were between removing those books entirely or make them an opt-in collection, I'm not sure what else they could have done and continued to serve a nationwide market. Maybe the answer is to move to an independent, local supplier, but I don't know how feasible or affordable that is for every school (or school district). It's not fair to condemn a nationwide book distributor that has to account for the laws in other states if they want to continue operating at a nationwide level. The blame lies with the elected officials that are passing these book bans, not the teachers, librarians, or book distributors that are forced to respond to the bans.

They have manufactured this tension. Librarians and book fair sponsors have always had the option of not putting out any books that they are uncomfortable with. None of the many wonderful local/regional independent book fairs have resorted to this nonsense, and I urge anyone who coordinates their school’s PTA to use them. I can vouch for Bedford Falls Book Fairs and Bookworm Plantation (I have never used Scholastic because of the trinkets and the amount of titles that are just media tie-ins).

Um, I don’t know anything about them, but the very LAST option that I would pick for a children’s book fair — especially when I’m concerned about diversity issues — is one that thought that calling themselves “PLANTATION “ would be a wonderful way to attract patrons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just held a book fair with scholastic and this must have come out right after that..... I can't say I would work with scholastic again if this is how they are approaching introducing children to books..

Parents have every right to be upset or refused to let their children read a book. What they cannot do is refuse to let any parent let their children read that book

A lot of people seem to think that rights only apply to what they want and feel.

This isn’t how Scholastic is “approaching introducing children to books”. This is how Scholastic is RESPONDING to the new restrictions and laws that have been springing up in many communities. Scholastic— and individual schools and teachers— are just trying to avoid being sued. Scholastic has been around for decades. This change did not come at their behest. Instead of blaming Scholastic, maybe blame people like that woman in Virginia who’s requesting bans for dozens of books that she hasn’t even fully read.

[Anonymous]

The black stuff isn't political, it's just that some schools go overboard to the point of ridiculousness. Like a school with a 5% black student body having most of the featured display fiction and non-fiction books about black characters and historical fiction is weird, outside of black history month. Diversity means lots of different cultures are represented, not one tiny minority. It's exhausting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If what Scholastic is saying is true that their only choices were between removing those books entirely or make them an opt-in collection, I'm not sure what else they could have done and continued to serve a nationwide market. Maybe the answer is to move to an independent, local supplier, but I don't know how feasible or affordable that is for every school (or school district). It's not fair to condemn a nationwide book distributor that has to account for the laws in other states if they want to continue operating at a nationwide level. The blame lies with the elected officials that are passing these book bans, not the teachers, librarians, or book distributors that are forced to respond to the bans.

Well said!

And I see no reason to doubt Scholastic since they have decades upon decades of operating without policies like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having volunteered at these in the past. Kids regardless of race or ethnicity want to buy
1. toys and trinkets that parents don't want them wasting money on
2. books with popular characters from cartoons/tv/movie/youtube/tiktok are the focus
3. non fiction books with really good pictures and fun facts

And then the rest

so no kids aren't going there searching out books with diverse characters. They would much rather buy a sparkly pen or similar trinket. Now sure they might buy a book if an adult tells them to but it's not like the overwhelming majority of kids are going to seek out some serious books.

This might surprise you: Diverse kids like diverse books. And, yes, many kids look for books that they feel have characters who are relieve to them — however they might view themselves. They buy the crap, but some end up buying the crap because it’s inexpensive and because they can’t find any decent books to buy. And yes, that includes fiction too.

Sorry: RELEVANT not “relieve”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The black stuff isn't political, it's just that some schools go overboard to the point of ridiculousness. Like a school with a 5% black student body having most of the featured display fiction and non-fiction books about black characters and historical fiction is weird, outside of black history month. Diversity means lots of different cultures are represented, not one tiny minority. It's exhausting.

I can imagine! Just as I’m sure you can imagine how “exhausting” it can be to be one kid in a school with a 5% Black student body — who has to go to a “special collection” to buy a book that might have characters who look like them. They’ll get used to it though, because books are being banned in libraries too.

I’m curious though. Can you post a picture? I’ve been to many Scholastic book fairs in multiple cities and multiple schools, and the schools with close to 100% Black students don’t have displays like that. If you can provide specific examples, it will make it easier to request titles the next time I’m involved in any planning.

Nice of you to give us “Black History Month” as a not “weird” option. SMH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is this place - a place online - where you can: order books!

I will share a little secret with you: it is called

Amazon.com

This is EXACTLY why Scholastic's actions matter. I work in a high-poverty school with many recent immigrants. Our families, if the use Amazon at all, don't much use it to order books. There are no bookstores in my county. The students' only significant access to purchasing books is the book fair. (Luckily we have a well-stocked library that features much diversity).

[Anonymous]

Thank you for sharing this, OP. Adding Scholastic to the list of companies I won't support. So sorry for our teachers who have to battle this nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The black stuff isn't political, it's just that some schools go overboard to the point of ridiculousness. Like a school with a 5% black student body having most of the featured display fiction and non-fiction books about black characters and historical fiction is weird, outside of black history month. Diversity means lots of different cultures are represented, not one tiny minority. It's exhausting.

I can imagine! Just as I’m sure you can imagine how “exhausting” it can be to be one kid in a school with a 5% Black student body — who has to go to a “special collection” to buy a book that might have characters who look like them. They’ll get used to it though, because books are being banned in libraries too.

I’m curious though. Can you post a picture? I’ve been to many Scholastic book fairs in multiple cities and multiple schools, and the schools with close to 100% Black students don’t have displays like that. If you can provide specific examples, it will make it easier to request titles the next time I’m involved in any planning.

Nice of you to give us “Black History Month” as a not “weird” option. SMH.

Why would you need to find a character who looks like you in a book? It’s not TV…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The black stuff isn't political, it's just that some schools go overboard to the point of ridiculousness. Like a school with a 5% black student body having most of the featured display fiction and non-fiction books about black characters and historical fiction is weird, outside of black history month. Diversity means lots of different cultures are represented, not one tiny minority. It's exhausting.

I can imagine! Just as I’m sure you can imagine how “exhausting” it can be to be one kid in a school with a 5% Black student body — who has to go to a “special collection” to buy a book that might have characters who look like them. They’ll get used to it though, because books are being banned in libraries too.

I’m curious though. Can you post a picture? I’ve been to many Scholastic book fairs in multiple cities and multiple schools, and the schools with close to 100% Black students don’t have displays like that. If you can provide specific examples, it will make it easier to request titles the next time I’m involved in any planning.

Nice of you to give us “Black History Month” as a not “weird” option. SMH.

Why would you need to find a character who looks like you in a book? It’s not TV…

OMG.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The black stuff isn't political, it's just that some schools go overboard to the point of ridiculousness. Like a school with a 5% black student body having most of the featured display fiction and non-fiction books about black characters and historical fiction is weird, outside of black history month. Diversity means lots of different cultures are represented, not one tiny minority. It's exhausting.

I can imagine! Just as I’m sure you can imagine how “exhausting” it can be to be one kid in a school with a 5% Black student body — who has to go to a “special collection” to buy a book that might have characters who look like them. They’ll get used to it though, because books are being banned in libraries too.

I’m curious though. Can you post a picture? I’ve been to many Scholastic book fairs in multiple cities and multiple schools, and the schools with close to 100% Black students don’t have displays like that. If you can provide specific examples, it will make it easier to request titles the next time I’m involved in any planning.

Nice of you to give us “Black History Month” as a not “weird” option. SMH.

Why would you need to find a character who looks like you in a book? It’s not TV…

Because I personally find it affirming. There’s also a higher chance that books with characters that look like me, might actually be dealing with issues that I can relate to. Like being one of a small number of Black students in a school — say 5% — and realizing that raving parents out to ban books are happily whitewashing history, and the school a acquiesces.

Oh, and we don’t do TV in my house. You can probably guess why.

[Anonymous]

Why would you need to find a character who looks like you in a book? It’s not TV…

Rudine Sims can help you out with understanding how it might be helpful to "see" yourself in a book (and why it can be helpful to "see" people who are different from you, too):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AAu58SNSyc&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wgvu.org%2F&source_ve_path=OTY3MTQ&feature=emb_imp_woyt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is this place - a place online - where you can: order books!

I will share a little secret with you: it is called

Amazon.com

Thanks for sharing your secret PP! Guess what: Most kids, especially kids who like to read, enjoy looking at the covers, flipping through the pages, comparing one book with another. That’s why Book Fairs have been successful for many decades.
It’s no secret.