Scholastic Book Fair will let schools opt out of collection that celebrates diversity

Update: Scholastic Book Fairs announced on Oct. 25 that it would reverse its decision to separate diversity-related books. The company has apologized and says it will discontinue the collection by January. Read more here.

Scholastic Book Fairs have served as a portal for young people looking for self-expression and creative outlets in the form of books and stationery for decades. But critics say a new policy from the publishing company is harming kids and undermining the fair’s original purpose.

Scholastic announced on Friday that it was debuting a collection of books at its elementary school book fairs that celebrates diversity. Many titles in the 64-book Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice collection feature LGBTQ+ and BIPOC characters or spotlight real-life civil rights activists.

But, to comply with a surge in legislation nationwide that regulates how race and gender are taught in the classroom, Scholastic is letting schools opt-out of the diversity collection.

“We don’t pretend this solution is perfect,” the company said in a statement. “But the other option would be to not offer these books at all — which is not something we’d consider.”

The opt-out only impacts elementary school-level book fairs. Middle school fair offerings remain unchanged, Scholastic said. While exact numbers were not available, a Scholastic spokesperson told the New York Times that some schools in all 50 states have opted to include titles from the diversity collection.

Still, Scholastic’s option to opt-out was met with sharp criticism. Parents described having grown up loving the book fairs and passing that love on to their own children.

For many, the Scholastic Book Fair is a beacon of nostalgia, transforming school cafeterias, gyms, and media centers into mini shopping malls with hundreds of book titles, Spy Kits, posters, pencils, novelty erasers, you name it.

“Not to sound dramatic, but the Scholastic Book Fair in elementary school is the most pure and genuinely happy place I’ve ever experienced in my life,” a viral Tumblr post from 2016 said. “Wait for the person who makes you feel like the way you felt during the Scholastic Book Fair in elementary school,” said a tweet from the same year.

The fairs come with challenges. Critics have pointed out inequities — particularly for students whose families don’t have extra money to spend on new books. Scholastic has worked to combat this over the years with free versions of the fair and other initiatives.

As noted by a Vox tribute to the book fairs and another from The Atlantic, the fairs — which launched in 1981 — call back to a type of analog nostalgia. Annually, Scholastic hosts 120,000 book fairs across the country.

The format provides participating schools with the products, setup kits, and promotional materials. From there, the school receives a percentage of the profits. While several book companies have hosted similarly formatted fundraisers, by the late 1980s, Scholastic rose to prominence.

Besides serving as a fundraiser, the fairs also became a key tool for breakout authors, introducing readers to titles including Harry Potter, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Because of Winn-Dixie, and building appetites for reading.

Now, critics fear those appetites will be quelled as youth looking for books with relatable characters may struggle to find options.

Books in the diversity collection include a fantasy novel about a Lakota girl, a book celebrating the origins of a Latina girl’s name, a book about different family types (including adoptive families and families with same-sex parents), a story about the power to make change by National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, and books about Black public figures, including Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, LeBron James, and the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis.

Critics say giving schools the option to opt-out of these books caves to hard-right anti-woke rhetoric. Or, as one librarian has described it, it hits the “bigot button,” according to Judd Legum of Popular Information.

Scholastic said the move was unavoidable, citing state laws and book bans nationwide.

Legislation varies by state and school district,. but most of the laws scrutinize books that address race, civil rights, gender identity and expression, LGBTQ+ themes, or topics centering around diversity and marginalized groups. Many state laws use intentionally vague language and put the onus on the educators, threatening teachers’ jobs if certain books are taught or found in classrooms.

In Georgia, a teacher was fired after reading a children’s book about gender identity to her students. In Florida, a permanent substitute teacher was fired after posting a video of his school’s freshly emptied bookshelves. In northern Iowa, a school district turned to an AI chatbot to help review its book collection — which resulted in the temporary banning of Friday Night Lights.

In Pennsylvania, book bans are not as widespread as in other states. Still, the Central Bucks and Pleasant Valley School Districts have both placed books under review in the last year.

» READ MORE: An Iowa school district used ChatGPT to ban Buzz Bissinger’s ‘Friday Night Lights.’ He’s not happy.

As noted by EdWeek, the laws led to at least 3,300 instances of book bans in U.S. public schools and libraries in the 2022-23 school year and the removal of more than 1,500 titles from students’ access, according to PEN America data.

Earlier this year, Scholastic signed an open letter from PEN America opposing the growing legislation.

“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,” Scholastic said in its statement last week. “We cannot make a decision for our school partners around what risks they are willing to take.”

Below are the 64 book titles that are part of the Scholastic Book Fair’s Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice collection, according to EdWeek. Schools hosting a book fair can opt out of ordering books included in this collection. The list provided to EdWeek included a disclaimer that book availability may vary.

The ABCs of Black History by Rio Cortez

All Are Neighbors by Alexandra Penfold

All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold

Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal

Alma’s Way: Junior’s Lost Tooth by Gabrielle Reyes

Battle Dragons: City of Speed by Alex London

Battle Dragons: City of Thieves by Alex London

Because of You, John Lewis by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Big Nate: Payback Time! by Lincoln Peirce

Blended by Sharon M. Draper

Booked (Graphic Novel) by Kwame Alexander

Change Sings by Amanda Gorman

City of Dragons: Rise of the Shadowfire by Jaimal Yogis

Dragon Prince Graphic Novel #2: Bloodmoon Huntress by Nicole Andelfinger

Dragon Prince Graphic Novel #3: Puzzle House by Peter Wartman

Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros

Federico and the Wolf by Rebecca J. Gomez

Freestyle by Gale Galligan

The Girl in the Lake by India Hill Brown

The Girl With Big, Big Questions by Britney Winn Lee

Her Own Two Feet by Meredith Davis

Our World in Pictures, the History Book by DK

Home for Meow: Kitten Around by Reese Eschmann

Hummingbird by Natalie Lloyd

I Am My Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams by Tanisia Moore

I Am Ruby Bridges by Ruby Bridges

I Color Myself Different by Colin Kaepernick

Into the Heartlands: A Black Panther Graphic Novel by Roseanne A. Brown

JoJo’s Sweet Adventures: The Great Candy Caper by JoJo Siwa

Justice Ketanji by Denise Lewis Patrick

Karma’s World: Daddy and Me and the Rhyme to Be by Halcyon Person

Karma’s World: The Great Shine-a-Thon Showcase! by Halcyon Person

The Loud House: No Bus, No Fuss by Shannon Penney

The Loud House: Old Friends, New Friends by Daniel Mauleon

Mabuhay! by Zachary Sterling

Miss Quinces by Kat Fajardo

Mommy’s Khimar by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

More Than Peach (Bellen Woodard Original Picture Book) by Bellen Woodard

Nuestra América by Sabrina Vourvoulias (Vourvoulias is an editor at The Inquirer)

Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang

Pedro and the Shark by Fran Manushkin

Pets Rule: My Kingdom of Darkness by Susan Tan

Pets Rule: The Rise of the Goldfish by Susan Tan

Picture Day by Sarah Sax

Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall

Refugee by Alan Gratz

Reina Ramos Works It Out by Emma Otheguy

Remarkably Ruby by Terri Libenson

Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac

The Secret Battle of Evan Pao by Wendy Wan-Long Shang

She Dared: Malala Yousafzai by Jenni L. Walsh

Speak Up! by Rebecca Burgess

Sports Heroes LeBron James by Hannah Dolan

The Storyteller by Brandon Hobson

That Girl Lay Lay: It’s Time to #Slay by That Girl Lay Lay with Kwyn Bader

That Girl Lay Lay: Positive Vibes Only by Andrea Loney

Thunderous by M.L. Smoker

The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat

We Shall Overcome by Bryan Collier

When Clouds Touch Us by Thanhha Lai

Where Are You From? by Yamile Saied Méndez

Who Was the Greatest? by Gabriel Soria

You Are Enough by Margaret O’Hair

You Are Loved by Margaret O’Hair