The children’s book publisher Scholastic said it will separate titles in its elementary school book fairs by race, gender and sexuality, allowing school districts to include or exclude the list.
The decision is a response to dozens of state laws restricting how the topics are discussed in schools, which Scholastic has opposed. Districts can now opt out of the new list, called the Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice catalog, or choose specific titles from it.
The new catalog of 64 titles includes biographies of the supreme court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and the civil rights icon John Lewis; the memoir I Am Ruby Bridges, on the experience of desegregating schools; the picture book Change Sings by the poet Amanda Gorman; The Storyteller, a middle grade novel about a Cherokee boy; and the disability-positive titles You Are Enough and You Are Loved.
In a statement last week, Scholastic said it created the separate catalog to continue offering diverse books in a hostile legislative environment that could threaten school districts, teachers or librarians. “There is now enacted or pending legislation in more than 30 US 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,” it said. “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.
“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,” the statement added, “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.”
Alongside PEN America, Scholastic has signed an open letter condemning book bans on the state and local level. But the Share Every Story catalog demonstrates the difficulty of continuing to do business in states in which restrictions on diverse titles could put schools and teachers in jeopardy.
Florida, for example, recently passed a law that would allow educators to be fired, and school districts to be sued or fined, for teaching banned material on race, gender or sexuality. Some school districts in the state are now requiring parents to fill out permission slips for their children to attend book fairs.
In a Tuesday statement, PEN America called Scholastic a “valued partner”, but said it disagreed with the publisher’s decision to create the Share Every Story catalog. “We call on Scholastic to explore other solutions so they can reject any role in accommodating these nefarious laws,” the organization said.
“To be clear, it is essential to lay blame on the legislators and activists who are putting Scholastic and other publishers in an impossible bind when it comes to the distribution of a diverse range of books,” the PEN statement continued, noting the “climate of fear” at work in schools and libraries.
But “sequestering books on these topics risks depriving students and families of books that speak to them. It will deny the opportunity for all students to encounter diverse stories that increase empathy, understanding, and reflect the range of human experiences and identities which are essential underpinnings of a pluralistic, democratic society.”
Scholastic hosts about 120,000 book fairs annually, according to the publisher, which began the practice in 1981. The fairs, which generate about $200m in profits shared with schools, reaches about 35 million children annually in all 50 states and internationally.
