17.2.09

Amen, amen and AMEN

I have ALWAYS been appalled at the trashiness of the Scholastic book company. Would you believe that when I took my children to a book fair at their school and let them each pick out a book, I then had to turn around and return Eric's book the next day because it was so inappropriate I couldn't even read the first page out loud to him? The explanation given was that it was geared toward 3rd-5th graders- I'm sorry, I don't want my child reading a book that uses the words "idiot" and "moron" multiple times on the first page, 3rd grade or not! Then there was Brigham, who almost had a meltdown because I made a rule that they had to pick out a book and not a toy. Huh? Thought it was a "book" fair did you? Funny, so did I. This company managed to get 15$ of my hard-earned money (of which I'm sure about 5 cents will go to the school) and turn me into a villain at the same time. This was like in October- can you tell how mad I still am about it?! So I felt pretty vindicated when I saw this column in the Washington Post today. I urge you to join the crusade!

5 comments:

Cailean said...

Oh yeah, totally agree. The Scholastic of my childhood is no longer. Back then the books were all important and historical and great. Now they are all commercial! Barbie, Dora, etc. And way overpriced. We went to our book fair and Elizabeth found nothing she wanted...finally settling on a really cheap book about a cat.

team howey said...

I was really pleased with my last order. I usually just throw the things away, but last time I ordered all of The Chronicles of Narnia for $20. Can't beat that price. As for the toys - I just say no.

Elise said...

I'm primarily a fan of the public library myself. That and used book sales.

I suppose Scholastic can market whatever they want, but the more they stray from what I'm looking for, the less likely they are to get my business. (Said by one who now trashes the flyer without looking inside.)

Laura Oler said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who dislikes scholastic books. I feel guilty that I'm not more supportive since it supposedly helps the school, but the books, even the ones I like, are over-priced or cheap paperbacks. I have a soft spot for books (one of our favorite dates is going to a bookstore w/o kids), buti I find better books on sale at Krogers -- yes, the grocery store. I do miss those great library sales in Seattle though!

Rachel said...

Yick, thanks for the heads-up! We don't have to deal with this for another couple of years, but it's nice to know what's ahead of us so we can steer clear of the trash.

By the way, your baby is BEAUTIUFL! And I do believe you have the most adorable little boys on the planet - they just get cuter and cuter!