Your alternative to the Scholastic Book Fair
Friday night my daughters’ school held their annual book fair, and it was not sponsored by Scholastic.
Many schools take advantage of the book-fair-in-a-box sponsored by Scholastic. We don’t.
What’s wrong with the Scholastic Book Fair? For some background, The Not Quite Crunchy Parent reviews Scholastic’s business model.
Blogger Julie thinks that the event has become a Gadget Fair, not a book fair. And H at the Letter of the Day says that children do not need to own so many books and should spend more time at the library. Excellent points.
I’m against it because it gives corporations a captive audience and another way to market to kids. Through their book fairs and their school flyers, Scholastic has become nothing more that an advertising venue for brand extensions: Barbie, Disney Princess, Littlest Pet Shop, Pokemon, Zack and Cody.
Read Mom’s post on why this is harmful and what she is trying to do about it at her child’s school.
Scholastic does provide a way to get low-cost books into the hands of kids (and teachers) who may not otherwise have access (outside of a library, of course).
Here’s another way to do it.
Families donate books to the school. Our volunteers spent Thursday evening sorting all the donated books. On Friday the books were set up by category — kids’ books in one room and adult books in another. Books were priced fifty cents for a child’s book or a paperback, one dollar for an adult hardcover, and ten cents for “waggy” books (you know, the really thin kind of kid’s paperback you get at a Scholastic Book Fair).
Dinner was served. A bluegrass band played. Local children’s author John Coy spoke to the kids about the process of publishing a book.
This is one of the best events at our school. It’s crowded. Families eat together surrounded by books. Everyone comes home with a sackful of new things to read. The school makes a little money. The books that don’t sell are donated.
It’s recycling. And it’s a simple way to stop putting more money into the children’s marketing machine.
November 19th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Yes, yes. I love it. Thank you, Lisa.
Out of curiosity - did you purge any book sthat you deemed inappropriate? In other words, if kids donate advertising related books, did you include them. It doesn’t seem nearly as problematic to have them in this context — it is one thing to have a Cheerios or Bratz book on the table and another to have some advertisier paying for access to a child’s eyes.
An update on our school situation: The director is sending the complaint to scholastic today. It is 2 pages and nicely detailed. Excellent.
I have to say, I’m thinking less and less about concrete substitutions for the Scholastic program and more about the question - what is really lost if it was just dropped with no replacement? How might we foster excitement about reading in other ways?
November 19th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Mom, I thought about it. I ran across a pile of Barbie princess books and thought about tossing them in the trash. But then I thought, wait a minute, who the heck do I think I am? In this context, no money is going back to Disney (or anyone else) so I’m reluctantly OK with it.
I really have to work on not pushing my ideas, but persuading instead.
Quite an effort to convince schools to drop the Scholastic book fair when teachers/classrooms benefit from it. As is the problem with anything related to public education, corporations can have their way because they have the money and the schools don’t.
November 20th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
This is amazing! What an excellent idea. I am really enjoying your blog.
November 25th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Thanks for the link! As one who spent over 20 years in corporate marketing…much of it marketing to children and parents I am acutely aware of the thought process that goes into marketing to children.
The sad part is that much of the marketing that we find harmful is unintentional …that is…marketers set out to sell to children no knowing how harmful much of what they do and I did is harmful. I blame it on lack of education in child development and nutrition neither of which is taught in B-school.
I’m trying to use my blog to both educate parents and educate marketers on how to market ethically…that is…marketers are not bad. They don’t want to harm children…they are just unaware. Even licensing, as I mention in my post on scholastic, is not bad…I think it’s a matter of to how much licensing we expose out children.
Anyway, I believe in the mission of this organization. I’d like to be a charter member of “Marketers for ethical marketing” :-)
November 26th, 2007 at 11:01 am
NQC — I hope I can use you as a resource! I’ve been hoping to get some feedback from “the other side” of the argument. Enjoy your blog and thanks for writing.
November 27th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
I would have to remark that if we attempt to stamp out any corporations’ attempt to market to children, that we are attempting to limit our rights to free enterprise. At what age do you recommend that marketing begin? How long do you plan to protect your children from the “evil world of marketers?” I enjoyed watching the juvenile marketing attempts over the years that my children grew. I was the person behind the scenes that made the final decision when it came to purchases. I enjoyed the attempts at “I have to have it…”. When parents are involved, there is no contest, except communication and definition with their children. If parents have no time for their chldren nor answers to their questions, therein lies the problem.
December 12th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Anne, I think between 8 and 12 would work. So what if the right to free enterprise is limited in this way? It’s already illegal to make false claims, advertise cigarettes on TV, etc. Corporations should be for the benefit of society, not the other way around. Corporations are not citizens.
You’re lucky that you enjoyed going up against this stuff; sounds like you thought of it as a challenge that you were totally up for. Great–but that doesn’t mean that it’s not maddening for some. And yes, parents have the ultimate responsibility for their children–but why make our job harder than it has to be?
If a family were walking down a road, it would be the adults’ responsibility to make sure the little ones didn’t get hit by traffic–and they would be wise to walk against traffic, put their kids in reflective clothing, hold their hands, keep them in a stroller if they’re small enough. But a sidewalk would be a great idea, too!
December 12th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Whoops, I forgot to add that my son’s day care is having a Scholastic book fair this very week, and I was looking for, but did not find, an appalling amount of branding. There were some branded cookbooks (aimed at parents), and some Dora & Diego books, and something called Avatars (? for older kids I guess), and a small table of pencils, erasers, etc., but for the most part it was non-branded books, and I bought a bunch for myself, my son, and my friends.
I would be even more excited about an event like Lisa described, but I would also be more likely to be asked to help organize it. :-(
December 12th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Karen….Appears as though you feel that parents deserve to feel that life should bes a cakewalk….Why stop at making life easier for your children by eliminating free enterprise by corporations….So sorry that it is maddening. Listening to Hillary Clinton every day is maddening also….Your job is as hard as you make it. If you are going to get “mad” at every car that face you in traffic, you are going to go “mad” building sidewalks!
December 13th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Limiting advertising to children is not eliminating free enterprise. What does Hillary Clinton have to do with this conversation? Personally, I’m pro-pedestrian–I think there should be sidewalks everywhere!
December 13th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Limiting advertising to children IS an attempt at eliminating free enterprise….Your definitions are somewhat limited and self-defined. A statement such a “Corporations should be made for the benefit of society” is quite simplistic and completely removed from the reality of the business world. Thankfully the consumer is aware of the importance of small/large businesses, what they offer to society and what they receive from society. Anti-business attitudes should remain in the minority…or perhaps you should have lived in a different era…pre-automation. Apparently, Karen, your concern is that life should never be maddening to you and any event that causes you to be “maddened” should be eliminated. My reference to Hillary Clinton is that she “maddens” me; therefore, should be eliminated!
December 14th, 2007 at 8:32 am
Anne, you raise some valid questions. I’ll be responding in a separate post — but don’t expect it until after Christmas!
December 14th, 2007 at 10:23 am
Anne (is your last name McCarthy?)
Are you smoking crack? Seriously. You’re hilarious — we have all kinds of child protections in this country (think movie ratings, child labor laws, seat belt laws, mandatory reporting of suspected abuse…) and a slew of regulations governing corporate practices as well (i.e., environmental laws, minimum wage laws, OSHA regs…), a desire to limit the amount of advertising directed at children when its ill effects have been proven does not make Lisa a communist. No one is asking corporations to stop making or selling anything, we’re asking them to behave ethically (gasp!). First and foremost, they need to get out of our schools. I’d like my kids to learn about math, science, reading, arts — not so concerned that they be watching Skittles ads on Channel One.
Also - Lisa, Karen, I missed the part where you wanted to go back to pre-automation. Are you Amish Communists?
Holy Cow, Anne — go back to your business school and pray some more on whatever the bible of rationalization you’ve been reading.
December 14th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
My dear mom….no wonder your argument lacks substance; your solutions involve name calling and finger pointing! You are obviously a Democrat! (Ooops is that name calling also!! ) I believe that there is a separate blog for your logic….moveon.org…
If you didn’t have corporations involved in the schools in this country, your children would be missing much more than the three R’s. Funding sources for schools have been evolving, if you haven’t noticed. Schools cannot and do not run independently anymore. What do you fear from corporations? Who are you blaming? So there is a Skittle ad placed on Channel One…who cares, who is funding Channel One!
My suggestion would be to learn how to accept change within the country and promote the positive aspects of resourceful funding for schooling. Obviously, as you point out, government has regulations. They were all enacted for a reason. Why would you condemn the mouths that fund your children without a trial. I haven’t heard a substantiated argument faulting any specific Corporations for the downfall of children in this country….
So there is pressure put upon you by advertising that you don’t care for….Isn’t the ultimate result dependent upon the depth of involvement by the parent with their children’s decisions? Temptation is offered all around us. Who is going to assist these children in making the correct choices. Obviously, you wish to remove all of the temptations to make it easier for them. Or perhaps you don’t have time to allow for that involvement with your children!
Lisa…I missed the part where I made any accusations about you reverting to pre-automation. An Amish Communist? Is that your best argument, mom!
December 15th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Moderator stepping in here — this is new territory for me, but I think the dialogue is coming dangerously close to violating the Comment Policy (paragraph 2, about not making the discussion personal).
Anne, some of the arguments against excessive marketing to children are listed on the PEM home page and explained via the links.
Mom, I prefer to think of myself as a Socialist.
December 15th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Waah, Lisa - it was just getting fun. ;-)
(new respectful tone)
Anne, there is actually a great deal of substance to the critiques of marketing to children, particularly in schools. More substance than a blog comment certainly can contain, but if you are interested, the PEM resources are a great start. You might also look to the findings of the Educational Policy Research Unit at Arizona State, where they have the Commercialism in Education Research Unit, Harvard Medical School’s Judge Baker’s Children’s Center or Harvard’s Center on Media and Child Health based at Children’s Hospital in Boston. Not exactly crazy leftist encampments.
The challenge is that the ill effects on immersion in consumer culture are actually little known, which is why this blog, PEM, and CCFC are so important.
I do understand that funding of education has “evolved,” this is precisely the point. I’m uncomfortable with the direction it has taken, as are many others. It’s my right and responsibility, as far as I’m concerend, to work toward improving the situation, not just for my own children, but for all kids. I appreciate Lisa’s leadership here tremendously.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I just received the following email from my daughter’s school. This is a full time (7-7) daycare in Manhattan for 3 months - Kindgergarten). We’ve been very happy with the school but I hate to see the corporate propaganda sneaking in.
* * * *
CALLING ALL PARENT VOLUNTEERS
I am very excited to have XXXXXXXXXXX host a Scholastic book fair! The book fair will take place the week of XXXXXXXXXXX and this fair will give parents the opportunity to purchase popular stories that are used in our classrooms as well as a browse through newer titles. The fair will take place during morning drop-off time (8:15-10:00AM) and evening pick-up time (5:00-7:00PM). I am looking for a few volunteers to help out with this event.
Please email me if you would like to participate. Any volunteer help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
XXXXX
May 10th, 2008 at 1:36 am
Just wanted to pass along a great book fair company that i just finished up. It is from Imagine Nation Books Ltd. called:
TakeHomeBookFair.com
I have done dozens of book fairs in my time and THIS one is by far the easiest and they give a 40% rebate which really cant be matched. It doesn’t take any volunteers either. My school received over $3650 in cash and books!
You are absolutely right when you mentioned the other companies hold “captive audience for a gadget fair” It is converse to the “wholeness” of what a book fair should be. And I don’t like the fact that Scholastic dumps their stuff off and leaves us to do all of the work. I pull my hair out each year doing these.
I recommend TakeHomeBookFair.com to everyone if they want excellent durable, up-to-date titles . Their program is by far the newest and most beneficial I have ever seen, not to mention the easiest! It doesnt take a list of volunteers and doesn’t take up your library space.
The account manager I spoke with at Take Home Book Fair was Shane Davis. He was so helpful and was always there if I had a question. He sent 680 Take Home Book Fair catalogs to our school for free and we held the fair for 2 weeks. One other benefit is the teachers get 50% off everything. Each student took one catalog home with them and returned with their orders within our fair timeline. About 9 days after I send my orders in they UPS shipped our orders (pre-sorted in individually labeled boxes for each student)!! I couldn’t believe it. For the first time I didn’t have to sort through hundreds of books. And I didn’t have to move any tables and racks etc…
I ran the Take Home Book Fair by myself. You can get a free catalog on their website. I am staying with this company. No more pulling my hair out. I will post their website on this blog, I hope it sticks.
Thank you,
Peggy Reiling
Librarian
Washington State
May 10th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Thanks Peggy! I just wrote to them to ask for a sample of their catalog to see if it is something I might recommend to readers. One of PEM’s concerns with Scholastic is the number of books they offer that are linked to licensed characters. You don’t mention if this is true or not with TakeHomeBookFair, so we’ll see!
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I don’t think there is anything at all wrong with Scholastic Book Fairs. We have to keep up with the times and in this day in age electronic games and TV are ever so popular for children regardless of how much you shelter them. If it takes a well known character like Barbie or Spiderman for a child to open a book then so be it. The licensed characters are key to get a child even interested in reading now a days.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Sherry, thanks for commenting. I don’t know a lot about reluctant readers, although I have heard your argument before. I agree that reading is important, and if that’s all that kids will read, so be it.
However, the effect of licensed characters go far beyond helping kids to read. I guess parents must balance what they think is important in their kids’ lives.
I do think it’s too bad that we can’t find other ways to interest kids in great books.