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Scholastic Book Fairs caught up in right’s ridiculous culture wars

With public school and community public libraries under constant assault from right-wing zealots intent on scrubbing them of all diversity, it was only a matter of time before another iconic institution got caught up in the culture wars: Scholastic Book Fairs.

Scholastic announced (or “clarified”) in a press release Friday, Oct. 13, that in response to laws restricting access to books in more than 30 U.S. states, it would segregate “certain kinds of books … – mostly LGBTQIA+ titles and books that engage with the presence of racism in our country” — into a new “collection” of titles for Scholastic Book Fairs called “Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice.”

“Because Scholastic Book Fairs are invited into schools, where books can be purchased by kids on their own, these laws create an almost impossible dilemma: back away from these titles or risk making teachers, librarians, and volunteers vulnerable to being fired, sued, or prosecuted,” the company said in its statement.

So, in many states, the Scholastic Book Fair one child attends will be different from another Scholastic Book Fair in another state.

Scholastic can dress this up any way it likes, but it’s clearly caving in to political pressure and fearmongering at a time when holding the line against censorship has never been more important. Self-banning these books in their book fairs presents the same problem as school boards or cities banning them in their libraries; it’s up to children’s parents to police what they read, not governments and not institutions dedicated to preserving and providing knowledge, whether or not it offends one particular person or group who is in power at the moment. Weaponizing a cherished childhood event that cultivates enthusiasm for reading and reinforces schools’ central role in creativity and individual development will have only a chilling effect on an entire generation of readers and thinkers.

You can read Scholastic’s full statement attempting to justify its decision below. But remember: Separate is NOT equal, and the people banning books — and those who ultimately bow to them — are NOT the good guys.

A MESSAGE FROM SCHOLASTIC ON U.S. BOOK FAIRS

Scholastic provides diverse titles to every Book Fair.  

There have been a number of misconceptions that we want to clarify about how we have created a path to host Scholastic Book Fairs, even as schools and educators in the U.S. navigate restrictions imposed on them by state legislation and local policy. The biggest misconception is that Scholastic Book Fairs is putting all diverse titles into one optional case. This is not true, in any school, in any location we serve.

There is now enacted or pending legislation in more than 30 U.S. states prohibiting certain kinds of books from being in schools – mostly LGBTQIA+ titles and books that engage with the presence of racism in our country. Because Scholastic Book Fairs are invited into schools, where books can be purchased by kids on their own, these laws create an almost impossible dilemma: back away from these titles or risk making teachers, librarians, and volunteers vulnerable to being fired, sued, or prosecuted. 

To continue offering these books, as well as even more high interest titles, we created an additional collection called Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice for our U.S. elementary school fairs. We cannot make a decision for our school partners around what risks they are willing to take, based on the state and local laws that apply to their district, so these topics and this collection have been part of many planning calls that happen in advance of shipping a fair.

We don’t pretend this solution is perfect – but the other option would be to not offer these books at all – which is not something we’d consider. There is a wide range of diverse titles throughout every book fair, for every age level. And, we continue to offer diverse books throughout our middle school fairs, which remain unchanged. 

All children need to see themselves in stories and it is extremely unsettling to consider a world in which they don’t. Scholastic’s commitment remains unshakeable to publish and distribute stories representative of ALL voices. 

Update

In a message to authors and illustrators, Scholastic Trade Publishing president Ellie Berger appears to walk back the separation of race- and gender-related books:

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About the author

Jayson Peters

Jayson Peters

Born and raised in Phoenix, Jayson Peters is a southern Colorado-based newspaper copy editor and website designer. He has taught online media at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and now teaches at Pueblo Community College. A versatile digital storyteller, he has led online operations at the East Valley Tribune in Mesa, Arizona, followed by the Pueblo Chieftain, Colorado Springs Independent, Colorado Springs Business Journal and Pueblo Star Journal. He is a former Southern Colorado Press Club president and founder and curator of Nerdvana.