Scholastic allegedly lets schools exclude “diverse” texts from book fairs

School librarians are accusing publisher Scholastic of providing schools with the option to exclude “diverse” books from their book fairs, including books on racial and LGBTQ+ issues.

As Publishers Weekly notes, Scholastic is the largest operator of school book fairs in the U.S. In 2017, Vox reported that the publisher operated 120,000 fairs at schools across the country each year, though 2023’s number was still down about 15% from pre-pandemic levels.

Related:

Book bans in U.S. schools & libraries increased by 33% this past school year

At the same time, students are leading the fight against book censorship, according to a new report from PEN America.

But the nationwide conservative effort to ban books and limit discussion of racial and LGBTQ+ issues in schools is apparently affecting school book fairs as well. As The Mary Sue reports, several school librarians across the country have reported troubling new developments.

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Last month, a Reddit user posted that Scholastic had begun segregating “diverse” books into a separate book fair case, giving schools the option of excluding the case from their book fairs. The user claimed that the case contained books by authors of color and books about issues related to identity, class, and immigration, including books by National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman and out pop star JoJo Siwa.

The Reddit user also noted that the case contained books aimed at grade levels from kindergarten to middle school, unlike other cases that only included books for specific reading or grade levels. Scholastic specifically asked their school’s librarian if she wanted to include the case at the book fair, the Reddit user added.

“My school’s librarian was upset that Scholastic has effectively created a ‘bigot button’ to exclude these beautiful, inclusive books because some conservative districts don’t want their kids to see them,” the user wrote. “This has her so upset she is contemplating ending the school’s long relationship with Scholastic.”

On September 27, school librarian Tegan B posted a TikTok video in which she claimed that even after “opting in” to have the diverse book case included in her school’s book fair, Scholastic failed to send the case until three days into the event.

She noted that the majority of the books the publisher did send on time were about animals and few featured people of color. She added that the majority of her students are Hispanic and speak Spanish, and wrote in the post’s caption that many of them had already purchased books and would “miss out on a book where they can see themselves.”

The Mary Sue also reported that in an October thread on Twitter, author Kelley Jensen noted that Scholastic’s option for schools to opt in or out of the diverse books came up at a meeting of the Association of Illinois School Library Educators. Jensen described the publisher’s decision to allow schools to exclude the books from their events as “insidious.”

“What can school librarians do to raise hell about this? Why is it appropriate for Scholastic to have an easy censorship option? Why is profit more important than fighting back?” Jensen wrote.

The allegations against Scholastic come months after a fifth-grade teacher in Georgia was fired for reading the children’s book My Shadow is Purple to her class. The book, which the teacher purchased at her school’s Scholastic Book Fair, concerns a boy whose shadow is purple, unlike other boys who have blue shadows. A parent complained about the book and the teacher was fired.  

LGBTQ Nation contacted Scholastic for comment and will update this story if the company responds.