Scholastic Book Club

By: American Decency Staff

Kids love books. 

Scholastic Book Club, which many of you may be aware of particularly in the lower grades of elementary school, is known for its outreach to children in regard to the selling of their books via a regular flyer typically handed out at the classroom level. 

Scholastic Book Club has been around for a long time.  It sends out child-oriented fliers in public schools and even in some unsuspecting Christian schools with appealing ads inviting kids to buy their books. 

The problem is too many of their books are increasingly godless.

This year’s toxic fare includes a novel about a young girl who asks, “Is it possible to be bisexual in middle school”, as she’s “crushing on boys AND girls”?  Another book focuses on transgenderism and the inappropriate use of pronouns.  Many of the books are aimed at fostering identity politics and undermining the Christian faith; is this what we really want for our 6^th graders and under-aged children?  Do you? 

Parents, grandparents, school administrators and teachers, BEWARE!  Scholastic Book Club promulgates godless thoughts and anti-Biblical principles. 

Yesterday Steve Huston, a colleague, emailed me a link to an article from the highly-regarded website, the Federalist.  The link was in regard Scholastic Book Club.  Here is the link: Scholastic's New Catalog Hawks Books To Stuff Kids With Identity Politics

What troubles me is when Christian schools, Christian parents, etc.  upon looking through their little promotional newspaper, don’t see it for what it is – strongly anti-God, not what a Christian family SHOULD HAVE FOR THEIR CHILDREN.

When you click on the link, you should immediately see that it propagates the LGBT agenda, bringing an assault upon Biblical Christianity. 

Quoting:   Inside, we find a novel about a middle-school girl who is cast as Romeo in the school production of “Romeo and Juliet” and finds herself attracted to the also-female lead playing Juliet. Is it possible to be bisexual in middle school, the catalog copy breathlessly asks?

Another quoting:  The catalog features a new release from author Alex Gino, who demands the pronoun “they” and whose previous book, “George,” is described this way on Amazon: “When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl.” “George” was published in Scholastic’s “Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels.”

The Federalist article asks this question:  Yes, this is definitely the sort of thing teachers of eight-year-olds should be putting on their shelves or even using during class. Right? Right up there with “Wind in the Willows” and “Huckleberry Finn.” Even better, in fact, as those were written by yucky old dead white men, and the color and sex of a person completely determines how good his or her ideas are. It’s racist to think otherwise.

Another comment from the Federalist:

Even though feminism is going out of style thanks to transgenderism, there remain in the Scholastic catalog several peons to this celebratory and politics-neutral approach to life. That includes the “What Would She Do? Gift Set,” where girls can meet “25 rebel women who changed history by daring to challenge inequality, gender stereotyping, body shaming, and bullying!”

I have a Masters in Religion Education with a Christian School Administration emphasis. I taught in the public schools for 18 years.  I opposed Scholastic Book Club in the public schools and came to not using it in my classroom years ago.  But, what about the Christian school?  Shouldn’t  our standards be distinct from the secular schools?

As Christians, we are to be aware that everything we do or present is curriculum whether we think of it that way or not.  Or whether we like it or not.  “Be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1,2

Scholastic Book Club is not only secular, it promulgates godless thoughts, ideas, principles, and it unleashes it on youthful, undiscerning  eyes and minds (and souls) – impressionable youngsters. 

What to do? 

(1) Read the Federalist article itself.  Many of you reading this may be in a situation where your child or grandchild has brought home a Scholastic Book Club flyer.  If you aren’t bothered, I would be surprised and concerned.

(2) Ask God to guide you and then speak to a school leader and your child’s teachers.  The Scholastic Book Club should be dumped! 

(3) Share your thoughts with other liked minded parents and leaders.

(4) Contact Scholastic Book Club at:  1-800-724-6527 or bookclubs@scholastic.com

(5) Share your feedback with us at:  bjohnson@americandecency.org

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