Scholastic Sells Objectionable Books to Students

Remember when children’s books were just children’s books? Books that told wholesome stories and got kids interested in reading? Sadly, in 2023, children’s books have become an ideological battleground, as the woke left seeks to use this medium (among many others) to win the hearts and minds of children and young people.

Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher and distributer of children’s books, sells books to children at in-school book fairs across the country. At these fairs, children are able to purchase books without their parents’ active involvement. Recently, Scholastic got into hot water with the woke left by placing controversial books into an optional elementary school book collection known as “Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice.” Scholastic explained that it took this action to protect elementary schools from liability by letting them opt out of including the controversial titles at their respective book fairs. However, after a firestorm of controversy erupted, the president of Scholastic apologized for the company’s action, stated that the company was working on a “‘better way,’” and reaffirmed its commitment to “‘LGBTQIA+ authors and stories.’”

According to Focus on the Family, one of Scholastic’s offerings is a book called George. Scholastic describes the book this way: “‘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.’” This book is marketed to children in grades three through seven. Scholastic’s offerings for teenaged students include a cartoon book that features full frontal nudity as well as a sex scene involving two girls—one of whom apparently identifies as “transgender.” The latter volume is so sexualized and inappropriate that some might even consider it pornographic. These are just two examples of the wildly inappropriate content Scholastic is selling to children and teens.

Of course, the $64,000 question is: Why would Scholastic—or anyone else—sell LGBTQIA+-themed books to elementary school students in the first place?

Corrie ten Boom, a Holocaust survivor who helped save the lives of 800 Jews during World War II, once shared a sobering conversation between her and her father as a young girl. In the book The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom, the author recounts that Corrie asked her father what “sex sin” was as the two of them rode on a train together. Mr. ten Boom wisely responded by asking Corrie to carry his bag off the train. She confessed that the bag was too heavy. Mr. ten Boom answered, “Yes, and it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It’s the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children.”

Christian actor and author Kirk Cameron recommends a “healthy, wholesome” alternative to Scholastic’s book fairs. It is called SkyTree Book Fairs. Skytree is a nonprofit organization that sells only family-friendly books to kids. In a recent article, Cameron explained: “‘It’s obvious that Scholastic is committed to indoctrinating our youth with harmful messages. They are not just the 1,000-pound gorilla in this space. They are the space… We want to knock them out of the race.’”

Children should not have to carry the weight of being exposed to material that contains warped perspectives on sexuality and gender. Innocence must be protected, and it’s up to Christian adults to safeguard the next generation.

This article was originally published by NewYorkFamilies.org.