Is Scholastic Abusing its Power Over Kids?

From the time my kids started school, I’ve been buying them books through Scholastic Book Clubs and feeling good about how my dollars help support their schools while also building better readers. But now a children’s advocacy group says the clubs are sending the wrong message to kids about reading because one-third of the products for sale in Scholastic's elementary and middle school book clubs were either not books or were books packaged with other items such as jewelry, toys and makeup, the Associated Press reports. 

The direction of book fairs has great impact because three-quarters of U.S. elementary school teachers — and more than 2.2 million children — participate annually in the clubs, according to company estimates. Scholastic is the largest publisher and distributor of children's books, earning nearly $337 million last year from the book clubs, according to the AP. The clubs offers kids books at a discount and their teachers can qualify for deals on books and other classroom materials.

The director of The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood said parents had complained to the group that their kids were being sold toys, games, makeup and other items through Scholastic’s literary book club promoted in classrooms. “Marketing in schools is a privilege and not a right,” she told The New York Times. “Scholastic is abusing that privilege.”

Lisa Lloyd, a mother of two middle school girls who has volunteered at Scholastic Book Club fairs in Raleigh, agrees with the criticism of Scholastic’s book clubs, although she’s not outraged by Scholastic’s focus.

“(Those non-book products) are offered to them, and it’s up to parents to say you can’t have it,” she says adding, “Calling it ‘Scholastic’ is a little bit misleading."

From what she’s seen from volunteering at Scholastic book fairs, most kids are spending money on products that aren’t books, and her kids are no different.  “I will say to my kids: ‘I will buy two good books and not two fru fru books.’ I found that what they wanted was nothing to do with anything scholastic.”

An experienced local teacher who manages Scholastic book fairs says she also thinks it’s up to the parents to help guide the kids’ choices toward good books. And a local dad who has two school aged boys says those non-book items Scholastic is selling don’t matter to him.

“It doesn’t make a difference to me because they cannot force me to buy it.” he said. “It’s just like the cereal commercials on TV.”

But I wonder: For the privilege of entering so many schools, shouldn’t parents hold Scholastic to a more scholastic standard? The company may say that selling products that spin off of book names creates an interest in reading, but how does the Kart Racing Wii video game, the “American Idol” event planner—two book fair products—build literacy? If you're looking for fun ways to encourage literacy through your daily life with your children, read Carolina Parent's article, "Ages 6-10: Fun Ways to Promote Reading." Also check out carolinaparent.com's weekly listing of Storytimes in the Triangle as well as local book clubs.