Because book fairs take place in schools and without parental supervision, it said, such 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."
They said many school districts had questions and concerns about how to navigate the new legislation, which in some cases took effect over the summer. Those conversations, they added, weren't about how to eliminate certain books from their fairs, but how to safely hold a fair in the current climate.
Scholastic Book Fairs
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This fall, we made changes in our U.S. elementary school fairs out of concern for our Book Fair hosts. In doing this, we offered a collection of books to supplement the diverse collection of titles already available at the Scholastic Book Fair. We understand now that the separate nature of the collection has caused confusion and feelings of exclusion.
Book fairs are temporary pop ups with curated collections of books for students to buy. The events are predominantly for elementary and middle school students, and often feature a selection of books by a certain publisher, such as Scholastic, or books chosen by an independent bookstore vendor.
The vast majority of Scholastic book fairs serve elementary schools, said Ben Stone, a senior vice president of sales and strategy at the company. However, the publisher also organizes fairs for middle schools, K-6, and K-8 grade ranges. Scholastic does not organize book fairs for high school students.
The fair vendor, such as Scholastic, typically owns the registers at a book fair. At Scholastic fairs, schools can choose between taking 25 percent of the total fair revenue in dollars, or 50 percent of revenue in Scholastic dollars, which is internal currency districts can use to purchase library and curricular materials, stationery, library shelving and furniture, whiteboards, and other educational supplies the publisher offers.
The total fair revenue can vary widely, from about $1,200 in small schools to $100,000 in large ones, Stone said. On average, a Scholastic book fair tends to make $6,000, which makes the average school profit $1,500 or 3,000 Scholastic dollars, Stone said. In total, schools earn about $200 million through book fairs each year, Stone said.
Despite the challenges of this climate, we call on Scholastic to explore other solutions so they can reject any role in accommodating these nefarious laws and local pressures, or being an accessory to government censorship. What we understand was conceived as a practical adaptation to keep book fairs going in a fraught legal and political climate is clearly at risk of being twisted to accomplish censorious ends.
Multiple schools have resorted to requiring signed permission slips before students attend Scholastic's book fair, and some have even chosen to make the titles readily available for parents' viewing online. Scholastic's book fairs have been running for over 40 years nationwide and sell books to more than 35 million children every year.
Book fairs run by publisher Scholastic are a staple at schools across the U.S., with the pop-up sales events allowing students to shop for new titles without leaving school property. But now, the company is being accused of creating what some are calling a "bigotry button" that allows school districts to exclude books from the fairs that touch on race, LGBTQ and other issues related to diversity.
Some social media users noticed last month that Scholastic had carved out a separate category of books for the book fair events dubbed "Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice." The collection, which includes books about civil rights icon John Lewis and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown, among others, allows schools to opt out of carrying the titles in their book fairs.
But PEN America also blamed lawmakers and others in states who have promoted and passed book censorship laws. The group added that Scholastic's approach to keep its book fairs running through "a fraught legal and political climate" risks "being twisted to accomplish censorious ends."
Creating an opt-out group of diverse book fair titles comes as Scholastic is under fire from some conservatives for its book selection. One group, Brave Books, is urging parents and schools to "cancel Scholastic," claiming that the book fairs sell titles that "appear harmless" but include "ideas like gender fluidity and the LGBTQIA+ agenda on the inside."
Scholastic's book fair business is already facing pressure. In its most recent quarter, sales were down 4% from a year earlier, although the company said it expects business to rebound as more students return to making purchases in person following the pandemic. The company is hosting about 90% of the book fairs that it ran prior to the health crisis.
Wonderful, Kate! I can completely relate to the magic of those book fairs and clubs. Growing up, those were the only books we could afford. It was so much fun to choose the ones my mom would buy for me. And, as an adult, to help our boys choose their books when the flyers came home. A complete thrill when one of my books landed in both the fairs and the flyers. You must have been delighted to see several of your books among the shelves . . . and to present to the people who help make all the magic happen.
For more than 100 years, Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) has been encouraging the personal and intellectual growth of all children, beginning with literacy. Having earned a reputation as a trusted partner to educators and families, Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books, a leading provider of literacy curriculum, professional services, and classroom magazines, and a producer of educational and entertaining children's media. The Company creates and distributes bestselling books and e-books, print and technology-based learning programs for pre-K to grade 12, and other products and services that support children's learning and literacy, both in school and at home. With 15 international operations and exports to 165 countries, Scholastic makes quality, affordable books available to all children around the world through school-based book clubs and book fairs, classroom libraries, school and public libraries, retail, and online. Learn more at www.scholastic.com.
I had a follett fair last year and was disappointed, but thought maybe I was just being a creature of habit so I tried them again. I am currently hosting one and yet again i am completely disappointed! Next year I will be going all scholastic!
Nostalgia and aesthetics aside, the main issues to consider with book fairs are the rewards and the book selection. Here I will give my candid thoughts on both companies and also a few final thoughts on some other features.
I originally wrote this comparison article right after our book fair wrapped up in September. That was before the news broke about Scholastic\u2019s decision to have an \u201Copt-out/-in\u201D option for \u201Cdiverse books.\u201D This is a complicated topic, and I particularly appreciate this comment from Pen America (a non-profit organization that \u201Cstands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide\u201D): \u201CWhat we understand was conceived as a practical adaptation to keep book fairs going in a fraught legal and political climate is clearly at risk of being twisted to accomplish censorious ends.\u201D Scholastic has since pivoted on this decision but the whole situation will no doubt play a role in schools\u2019 choices of book fair vendors. My thoughts below do not touch on this issue, as it wasn\u2019t a factor when I was using these companies\u2019 services.
Hi Readers! This is a niche post. Maybe you\u2019ll read it for curiosity\u2019s sake even if you don\u2019t have any \u201Cneed\u201D to for book fair planning purposes. But maybe you know the librarian or PTA member who runs book fairs at your kids\u2019 or family member\u2019s school. If so, I\u2019d be honored if you considered passing it on.
Recently our school hosted a book fair that I coordinated along with a PTA representative. Last year, we used Scholastic; this year we tried out a Literati fair. We had a great experience with Literati, and I have a lot of thoughts about the pros and cons to each company\u2019s fairs and I thought I would share them for anyone looking for honest thoughts and feedback.
Most Americans who grew up in the 80s and 90s like me, remember the Scholastic book fair (and book orders) from their childhood. The nostalgia is real, and the memes reflect it, which you can see in the post I wrote last year after our fair (which was mainly about the nostalgia and my own highlights from that fair). Scholastic has actually been hosting book fairs since approximately the year I was born, so let\u2019s just say, over 40 years. ;) So they are an experienced, well-oiled machine. But does that mean they are still the best? I think that\u2019s now up for debate.
So that\u2019s it! I think for now, I\u2019m sold on Literati. I think it\u2019s the company that makes our parents the most happy because it gets kids excited about reading and less distracted by toys. It also wins out on more aspects related to planning and hosting a book fair. I still have a place in my heart for Scholastic, but I think they now have some solid competition and could learn a few things from Literati to improve and modernize their fairs.
Scholastic will ditch plans to offer books about LGBTQ identities and race in a separate, optional collection for book fairs beginning in January after educators and literary organizations accused the company of contributing to book censorship and segregating its book fairs. 2351a5e196
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