Recently, I got an email with an offer from Scholastic’s Educational Division to license Love in the Library for an AANHPI narratives collection, I was thrilled. If you’ve been in kids’ books for more than ten minutes then you are aware of the staggering reach of Scholastic. And since I’m not published by Scholastic this seemed like a thrilling opportunity. But as soon as I cleared the opening paragraph, my heart sank.
I’ve been really proud of Love in the Library’s successes. Yas Imamura’s illustrations are incredible. My publicist, Jamie Tan, of Candlewick did her job with sensitivity and respect. Our editor, Karen Lotz, helped shape the book into its best form while never demanding the story be told in a way she deemed might be more palatable. There were starred reviews, Best of 2022 lists, personal letters from people whose families had been incarcerated to whom this story means so much.
It is also true that I wish it sold more copies than it has. It’s a story I believe in, deeply, and a story that I think merits exposure– something Scholastic uniquely offers.
And Scholastic wanted to license the book! But only with a change to the author’s note. My offer was contingent upon it. Without even looking I knew what it was going to be. It was going to be the paragraph that inspires 1 star reviews from angry patriots, the one that sends them to my inbox with words unfit to repeat here or anywhere. And sure enough that was exactly what they wanted to remove.
But not only that: the word RACISM would be removed from the author’s note altogether.
They wanted to take this book and repackage it so that it was just a simple love story. Nothing more. Not anything that might offend those book banners in what they called this “politically sensitive” moment. The irony of curating a collection tentatively titled Rising Voices: Amplifying AANHPI Narratives with one hand while demanding that I strangle my own voice with the other was, to me, the perfect encapsulation of what publishing, our dubious white ally, does so often to marginalized creators. They want the credibility of our identities, want to market our biographies. They want to sell our suffering, smoothed down and made palatable to the white readers they prioritize. To assuage white guilt with stories that promise to make them better people, while never threatening them, not even with discomfort. They have no investment in our voices. Always, our voices are the first sacrifice at the altar of marketability.
And excuse my language, but absolutely the fuck not.
For a moment I wondered if there was a way to edit it so we could agree on it? But then I looked at the proposed edit, the one my offer was contingent upon again. The removal of the word RACISM made it all too clear. There was no compromise to be had here. There was no way to work with this. It was a Faustian Bargain, and I couldn’t take it. And, forgive my weakness, but I cried. For the opportunity I had, just moments ago, been so thrilled to receive, gone just as fast. For my resentment of being put in a position where I had to choose between my career and my ethics. For all the other people, just like me, who are likely given these kinds of choices all the time, but who— for fear of losing future opportunities, or for fear that this is their only opportunity, or who simply cannot turn down money—take the bargain. For the pure frustration that only years of dealing with the same kind of bullshit over and over again can inspire. For the fear that this kind of limitation will be what defines my career. I cried, and I felt ashamed that I was crying and furious that I’d been made to cry by an industry that will never cry over me.
I waffled a bit, deciding if I wanted to talk about this in public. It could, I realize, smack of sour grapes, or dramatics. It could scare off an editor who sees this and thinks I’m too difficult to work with— I have a book out on submission right now. Not a chill moment to name a publisher. And I would be lying if I didn’t admit I am afraid, deeply afraid. That this will negatively impact my career in some irrevocable way. That I’ll be labeled as too sensitive or a primadonna. I am aware that reputations matter. I am aware people have faced worse. And I’m tired, and I’d rather not do any of this. It’d be easier not to.
Every time I see a marginalized creator tell the truth about what they face, I feel this way: frustrated. Furious. Disheartened. But also less alone. Each incident reminds me that we are braver than they are, even if it’s only because we have to be. And that the more of us who do this, the more likely there may come a day when we can stop doing this. I can’t imagine what that looks like, and most days I can’t believe that day will ever come. I also can’t imagine not at least trying to get there.
And so, I’m making public both the proposed edit I was given (above), and the letter I sent in response (below). I hope it helps you on your way.
edited to add on May 3rd, 2023:
Thank you for all the support. For those who have asked, the book is available for sale anywhere books are sold. If you would like copies signed by me of LOVE IN THE LIBRARY, please order from Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore in Berkeley. They typically have signed copies on hand, and if they don’t can get them quickly. Personalizations are available by request.
277 Responses
Horrible but kudos to you for having such integrity and the courage to share this story.
Maggie, I’m so sorry you were put in a position to make this heart cracking decision. Your work is excellent and I hope that in the future Scholastic can offer the apology that you, Yas, and your family deserve.
Thank you also for speaking up about this awful situation in clear words despite such a messy situation.
Right on. 💪🏾Not easy, I am sure, but the absolute right and authentic response.
the fact that you were even put in this position is cruel and speaks volumes about Scholastic. thank you for bringing light to your experience. I know standing up for what’s right always has its consequences (if it was an easy thing to do, the world would look much different), but thank you for speaking truth to power
Maggie, thank you so, so much for taking the time to share this. Your bravery is going to be felt, and it’s going to have a ripple effect.
I’m so sorry this happened. Thank you for sharing such a disheartening and frankly awful experience; I hope Scholastic will make an effort to redeem itself
I’m sorry this happened, Maggie, and I appreciate your courage in standing up for your book. I hope Scholastic recognizes the error that they’ve made and does the right thing too.
I admire your courage and your choice. I am so sorry you were put in such a position as to have to make that choice.
The part of your letter and decision that makes my heart clench each time (I’ve read your post more than once) is about your grandparents. Standing up/with/for them. Refusing to abandon them. I deeply respect your decision.
Thank you for making this known—your story, your grandparents story, and this horrible story. Thank you for the courage and bravery to speak up and also speak out. I look forward to reading your book.
Bravo.
Oh Maggie. I am so sorry and can feel your pain. Thank you for sharing your experience and story, and being a model of integrity. Holding you in my heart.
Wow. Doing your family proud with this amazing book but again by speaking truth to power in the most eloquent and honest way.
What an awful thing to do to you, so disheartening. And I’m so sorry you had to experience it. Kudos to you for writing such a direct and clear response to their egregious behavior.
I found out about this via LinkedIn and admire you for your courage and steadfastness.
Oh Maggie I am so sorry you were put in this position. I applaud your courage and conviction. I adore your beautiful book and will continue to tell everyone I know about it.
Ouch. I loved this book and I am angry on your behalf.
I can remember exactly where I was standing in the Cambridge Public Library last January when I read the words that Scholastic asked you to remove. I can remember it, because it meant something to me to see racism named so clearly—in a present-day context—in a picture book.
Thank you for the book. Thank you for the author’s note. Thank you for standing up for a better world for all of us.
I’m so sorry, Maggie. This is heartbreaking. But thank you for taking a stand. It means so much to all of us AAPI parents raising our kids to be strong and live happily in their identity.
Ok, first and most importantly: Fuck them and FUCK YEAH! to you for taking this stand. I can’t imagine how much it hurt to have to do it, but I hope you don’t ever doubt you did the right thing.
Second, and much less importantly but still kinda relevant: You’re better off nor working with assholes so sloppy that they would edit your note to say that “the improbable joy” was the CAUSE of “the pain, the trauma, and the deaths.”
They were so eager to safewash your words that they didn’t even bother to read what they’d claim you’d written.
Fuck them. And FUCK YEAH! to you.
May it be a silver lining that more people who care about honesty in education and are willing to confront the racism in our nation will help sell books without Scholastic. I’ll be picking up a copy to read on my upcoming flight (to Florida!).
So, this is the first I’ve heard about this book, and I can already see that my granddaughter, whose paternal grandmother’s family was interned during WWII, very much needs a copy for her birthday. Do you have a preferred bookseller that you’d recommend interested people patronize? If so, can you share a link?
Thank you for your courage, and for sharing your family’s story.
Thank you for standing up. For speaking up. I’m going to buy your book in support.
I’m sickened. I’m sure this is asked of you even as they speak about freedom of speech and their anti-racist beliefs. I wish I were shocked. But you know you did right by your story and you and your family and all of us. We need your words.
So proud of you for taking a stand! My daughter (4 years old) and I borrowed your book from the library and loved it (while also being sad about what your grandparents endured). Thank you for telling your family’s story, and for highlighting the role of racism in imprisoning innocent citizens. I’m going to purchase your book to support you, because we need more people like you in this world. ❤️
I deeply admire your integrity.
HELL YES!! I’m furious right along side you at that insulting proposal, but grateful, so grateful that someone with the strength of heart was able to respond in this way. You are not too sensitive, too dramatic, or too hard to work with. You are absolutely right and you did the right thing. Both in sending that message and in sharing it. Every bit of resistance strengthens another. Thank you.
As a librarian and reader I am so grateful for your work and am so very glad for young readers that you didn’t accept that an insulting offer and request. But I am also so sorry that you were ever put in the situation or any other like it.
Thank you for doing this, and for telling your stories. I absolutely believe that they would ask this of you, because it’s the capitalist way to silence inconvenient narratives, but stories should not need to be convenient to be told. The most important ones never are.
Thank you for using your platform and voice to drive home this critical issue.
I’ve just ordered "Love in the Library" from our local independent bookshop. Thank you for your story, and for defending the whole of it.
This is appalling. Thank you for writing your grandparents’ story, and for being so brave in sharing this.
Thank you for posting this. I am going to purchase your book. We need the unfiltered truth about American history and your book sounds inspiring!
I’m ordering two copies of your book – one for us, and one for our school library.
As someone who has Filipino-American nieces and nephews of school age, I’m so grateful to you and your courage. I hope other Asian American authors find strength in your example.
I didn’t know about the Japanese internment until I took an ungrad Constitutional law course in 1990. It was a shocking case; Korematsu was a hard working man who became a US citizen and refused the camps. He lost the case as SCOTUS said it was a war time emergency.
While I know Scholastic wanted to edit that racism paragraph to make their lives easier, I personally think the paragraph waters down the strength and importance of your grandparents story. And of your writing. It’s not the same story as African Americans, Natives but others can identify by feeling that unique pain as the story unfolds. It’s unique, not simply "Them" (White, Jewish America) vs "Us" (all minorities). I could write a long post about it, but don’t want to flood your page. I am African American, by the way.
Good luck, you made the right choice for you. Greater things will result.
Well, hell, I just bought two copies, one for my little free library and one for another in my neighborhood. There are plenty of Asian families with young children in my neighborhood and they deserve the unvarnished truth. Scholastic’s reputation just took a serious nosedive with me.
Thank you for your courage. I am so sorry this is happening. I raised my granddaughter. Every year in grade school they have a Scholastic Book sale. If she were still in school we would no longer be buying these books.
I will see that my library gets a copy of your book if they don’t already have it.
As a little kid, I loved Scholastic books, and as a mother, I enjoyed letting my daughters run wild at the Scholastic book sales. I am so, so ashamed of Scholastic for this.
Racism is up these days. During the covid epidemic, random attacks on Asian elders occurred in my city. A friend of mine of Asian descent was afraid to be out during broad daylight. The timing is so terrible to pretend that racism in general and against people of Japanese heritage in particular doesn’t exist.
So, so sorry.
I hadn’t heard of you, nor your book, until someone shared your story of refusing this offer and why. I lost my job recently, but I have put it on my wishlist and it’s the first book I will buy with my next paycheck.
People need to know that racism doesn’t just happen to African Americans and doesn’t just happen in violation of the laws, and that laws are frequently not right, and that SCOTUS has a habit of handwaving away bad actions because of wartime (like the abominable “fire in a crowded theater” quote that gets bandied around) or because it would be inconvenient for the powers that be, like recently allowing acknowledged racist voting practices to stand.
Kudos to you and shame on Scholastic!! Who can we write to at scholastic to express our disdain for this offer? Thank you for not compromising, we must not let this be the norm. I would like to see Scholastic take a stand on the right side of history and not the wrong side. I am a teacher, I wonder how they would feel if we all boycotted Scholastic because of this. You can’t be the only one they have done this to. Believe me, majority of teachers absolutely do not support banning books. I will go purchase your book now and share it with my students.
What a disappointing mistake for Scholastic to make here. So much respect to you for sharing this story.
I deeply admire your courage and fortitude.
As a retired teacher, I am furious with Scholastic over this. As a member of various civil rights and social justice entities, I will raise this abdominal act. Thank you for your courage in speaking your words and refusing to be compliant.
I also will purchase your book.
You are absolutely doing the right thing. Scholastic is morally stillborn.
Thank you so much for sharing your story, strength and bravery and resistance to racism doesn’t just happen in camps, it also happens quietly behinds the scenes in our lives, every day and in letters to publishers. Your principled stand is something the world needs more of. I look forward to reading this story when my copy arrives soon.
I don’t know what your book is but I’d like to buy it even if it was a pdf file.
Good for you! Your courage and integrity are inspiring. I plan to buy this book and all of your others.
Thank you so much for writing this post and making public this offensive, atrocious (but sadly unsurprising) practice at Scholastic. I’m a book editor in educational publishing and let me assure you that calling out companies on their morally dubious behavior makes a difference. Recently, another company, Heinemann (a subsidiary of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) was similarly editing discussions of racism out of their books to make them palatable in those states with CRT bans. Word got out. Authors were appalled, canceled their contracts to take their IP elsewhere, spoke out on Twitter to warn other authors and readers. It has materially hurt Heinemann in terms of revenue (they lost books they had under contract) and affected their brand among their purchasers (mostly schools) and authors. The more these practices are made public, the more the companies will be held accountable in the way that matters most to management: money. I am so sorry you had to experience this racism, and that you had to choose whether to speak out at the risk of your career and well-being or let another racist practice slide. I’m going to share your story with my authors so they can share it among their circles (which includes Scholastic authors) and hopefully it’ll make a dent in the juggernaut. Thank you thank you thank you. This matters so much.
I LOVED this book thank you for sticking to your truth and values
I will find your book and buy it. No one should have to edit the truth out of their book. Shame on you Scholastic
Of course this will be small comfort, but you just sold me a copy of your wonderful and important book. I look forward to reading it with my five-year-old son.
I like the idea of reading him books written by people with integrity. There aren’t enough of you.
I am so sorry that this happened to you, and that Scholastic are making this bad, racist, choice. 🙁
p.s. I donated a hardcover copy of Love in the Library to my local (Australian) public library, and they were delighted to add it to their collection, and they showcased it on their "new books we’ve acquired" feature.
My wife teaches English to Japanese children. I have ordered a copy of your book for her and her students. Thank you for doing the right thing.
If I hadn’t already bought your book for my library (and enthusiastically — yours is a book I want in the hands of the future teachers my university trains), this post would absolutely have won me over. I’ll be talking about your book, and your courage, with my colleagues. And the next chance I get to talk to the reps from Scholastic who want to sell me their latest line, I’ll make sure they have a message to bring back to their superiors about the voices I’ll be prioritizing in my collection: if Scholastic’s afraid to tell children the truth, I’ll be doing business with presses that have overcome that fear. Thank you for this, and best wishes for the book out on submission!
Good for you! I support you entirely!
You did the right thing.
Buying a bunch of these for teacher friends’ classes. I loved this so much.
You are wonderful.
I bought a copy just to support you and your story. My kids are 18 and 14, well out of the intended age range, but it’s the kind of book I want available for all kids, including the note about racism. We have talked about the horror of internment camps and visited Manzanar near my childhood home. All the things you mention in the author’s note are just a few of the reasons I am ashamed of our country. The fact that they tried to censor you is abhorrent. I’m just one white mom trying to raise white kids to do better and be better people. I’m so sorry this is happening.
Bought a copy. Hi from Australia, you absolutely did the right thing.
I hate the fact that this deplorable incident barely shocks me. I’m in so much awe of your courage and authenticity – thank you for posting this and your work is on my radar now!
Buying two copies from the independent bookstore that brought this to my attention. I’m sure this is being shared. I hope it results in more sales, many more sales of your books, and causes some shame at Scholastic Educational.
Please keep writing.
I bought a copy for my own 7-year-old. Thanks for standing up.
Your beautiful book deserves to be shared in its original form. Kudos to you for standing up for what is accurate and true.
Just ordered a copy and decided I will be looking for other books , both children and adult ones that deal with the important topics that many have deemed as needing silencing.
The best response to a book-banning is to buy the book, whether it’s your sort of book or not. This isn’t precisely a banning, but I just bought it for my kindle.
I will buy a copy and donate it to my local library. You did the right thing. And I have lost a whole lot of respect for Scholastic.
Brb, heading to buy this book
I have a copy of this beautiful book, and I’m going right now to buy copies for my teaching team. Furthermore, I am- from this point forward- no longer purchasing from Scholastic or participating in their “book clubs” with my students. I’ll find another way to get books in their hands. I’m incensed and so sorry that this has happened. And…thank you for sharing! No sour grapes! We need to know who and what we’re dealing with!
Bought. I can’t give you Scholastic, but I can ensure our library has it.
You won’t like this but Scholastic is right. The deleted paragraph reads as a fairly typical progressive screed. It feels like you as the author are climbing on a soapbox. But THE BOOK ITSELF is your soap box. If your book has a point to make about racism in America, surely that comes through in the book itself. It shouldn’t be necessary to beat the reader over the head with it, and the excised paragraph, as written, would cost Scholastic business; not only would non-progressive parents be disinclined to buy the book for their kids, they might be disinclined to buy further books from Scholastic at all.
What a trash comment. Coming hear to defend a large publisher who wants to silence an author. Go lick their boots somewhere else.
Not defending anyone, just pointing out that I don’t think progressives realize how they come off to non-progressive people.
Non progressive people don’t realize how they come across to everyone not just like them.
We come across as arrogant and know-it-all and superior, right? Do you think you’re not whining about it enough for it to register? We just don’t care. The science says people like you will not be convinced or changed by reason, and so your hate will continue to kill people. Why should your feelings matter at all to us? Or “how you see us?”
I’m pretty sure Ian is actually on your side.
To me progressives come across as not believing they need to argue for their views, but merely to state them, with the expectation that everyone should just go along with them or else be branded racist or bigoted or whatever. You don’t come across as being willing or able to question anything that you argue for, or indeed to argue for it.
You haven’t argued for anything, just whined that someone said the quiet part out loud about racism.
Joe, if you think young children are too young to understand racism, you are mistaken. Do you not understand that many young children directly experience racism—and that their parents don’t have the option of avoiding the subject? Your children can understand, and they can develop empathy, but you are denying them that opportunity by saying they’re not ready for it. How unfortunate for them—and when will they be ready? It sounds like you still aren’t ready, so maybe for you the answer is never.
She’s in the right, though. Her statement is accurate. Scholastic is acting in cowardly self interest.
Look, there are a million ways we all have to compromise every day. My old man was fond of saying "You can’t die on every hill…but eventually you have to pick a hill."
Sometimes compromise is the greater of two evils. That isn’t in step with our "bow to the marketplace, if you don’t sell out you’re a fool" mentality, but it’s the truth.
We know precisely how we “come off.” Your assumption that we care about their fragile bigotry is incorrect.
Your statement is exactly what she’s talking about. You refer to it as a soapbox when it is just ONE of the "virulent, racism" stories that the Japanese–and others–have had to endure in America.
If I’m not mistaken, they want to publish the book, and they aren’t asking for changes to the story, just to the author’s note, which goes beyond the story to recite a set of typical talking progressive talking points. That’s not "telling kids the truth", that’s providing one’s personal opinion, aka, hopping onto a soap box.
Except of course, she’s right. Her author’s note tells the truth. It’s an unpalatable truth for many, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t accurate. An author’s note is part of the whole package – take it from someone with 14 years in the library trade. Kids especially want to know why people write books and how they go about doing so, and author’s notes provide this important context.
No, it doesn’t tell "the truth", it presents an opinion that requires an intricate set of arguments to sustain, but doesn’t present those arguments, and just as well, because it’s way over the head of what a typical 6 year old is ready for, developmentally or emotionally.
Again, you’re simply wrong.
An Author’s Note is not a separate publication in a scientific journal, which would require footnotes and references to primary source material. It is simply what it says, a Note from the Author telling the reader what inspired the author to write the story. You don’t get to second-guess the author’s own life experience. That’s just hubris. Given your several screeds, however, I don’t believe you would have ever allowed your children to read this book or any other that would make you the least bit uncomfortable. You invested entirely too much effort into justifying your personal point of view over that of the actual author.
I suspect the author’s life experience doesn’t include being a so-called "kid in a cage" at the southern border or a person affected by a so-called "Muslim travel ban". And, you know, that’s ok, an author’s note doesn’t have to be about one’s life experiences, or about anything specific: the author can write whatever he/she wants. But that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily /appropriate/ for the intended audience.
It’s not an opinion that the people who put Japanese citizens in camps were racist, or the people who put migrants in cages are racist, or that the people who support such heinous activities are racist. They are putting white people ahead of other people because they are racist.
Scholastic is terrible. They wouldn’t carry the fourth book in the Twilight series on their book carts because of a bedroom scene, as in, the newly married Bella and Edward went to bed together. That’s it. No sex. No graphic description. A married couple went to bed together.
Joe, please take this to heart as it is meant with the best intentions. No one who would be bothered by the paragraph in question would be likely to purchase this book for their children to begin with because of their own preconceived and personally held beliefs of the world and the society we have built for ourselves. That is the problem. With such an omission, children who happen across this story at their local and/or school libraries are robbed of the context of the story’s place in history and the explicit connection to how that history is repeating itself. At no point is Maggie "climbing on a soapbox" or "beat[ing] the reader over the head" with a "screed." And, frankly, it’s rather quite offensive—and telling—of you to say it reads as such. Scholastic is a publisher with a profit margin around ~3.71% and revenue in the 1+ billions of dollars. Including Maggie’s unedited and complete Author’s Note would, no doubt, cost the company business, but not in an appreciable amount to justify such an offensive contingency offer. Besides, have you even seen the latest—or, really, any—MAGA boycott? Bud Lite doesn’t care how much you flush or spill, you’ve already bought the product and given them your money. Nike doesn’t care how many shoes you burn or throw into the chipper, you’ve already bought the product and given them your money. This isn’t hard math. Scholastic chose to make a bad-faith offer for PUBLICITY alone. And they should be ashamed of this decision, root and stem.
I don’t agree. When my children were young, I could absolutely see using a book like this with them to gently introduce the idea that America doesn’t have an unblemished past, just as they were exposed to the stories of Ruby Bridges and Harriet Tubman and many other great American heroes who endured persecution and racism and overcame it. But I would never want a 6 year old handed the author’s note, or worse, as you suggest, discovering it on her own. The author’s note is a huge simplification: "We put kids in cages at the southern border just like we put the Japanese in internment camps, because of racism!" That is a barely defensible argument even if you supply all of the supporting ideas and arguments that it requires. It is not age-appropriate, and it’s also an opinion, and therefore not something I’d feel at all comfortable with a 6yo reading.
It is not an argument. It needs no defense. It is a simple truth that you can’t handle. I hope your children find better mentors in their lives.
I’m sorry, that’s not right, it’s neither "true" nor simple, and no, a 6yo is simply not ready for the apparatus of critical theory that’s required to sustain the arguments that the author’s statement expresses in extremely simplified form.
But, you know, you don’t know anything about me and yet you feel comfortable to make a fairly nasty comment about my ability to parent my children. This is one of the many reasons why conservatives have become so fed up with the progressive aspects of the education system, and suggestions like the one Amras makes above: that you (progressives) know best how to educate kids and what they ought to be taught, and when, and how, and if their parents won’t go along, they should be bypassed or subverted.
We know they need to be taught to avoid the racism of their conservative parents.
I’m disinclined to buy books from Scholastic because they want to offer a sanitized version of history to their readers. Moves like this can hurt as well!! Do you really think a book set during Japanese incarceration should avoid the word “racism”? That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard and if the author is willing to forgo the partnership because she has principles, more power to HER. Now what people should really be angry about are all the cheap little trinkets they try to sell kids at their book fairs. That is a real blasphemy.
This empty-nester just bought a copy.
Gonna buy right now. And I long ago ditched the scholastic book fair. What a horrible take. Thanks for sharing your story.
How can I buy copies for libraries? I don’t know the details, but do know that books made to be shelved at libraries are made from stronger stock paper or something like that.
What a racist post. Why are you assuming a "white readership"? Lets see, maybe whites are the majority race in the US? Maybe because whites spend the most in the economy (since they are the largest portion of the population? Or maybe because you simply assume whites are racist.
maybe you never gave thought that their largest customer base is simply white people due to the demographics of the country. Get over your anger and explore your own racism.
What a horrible person you. Scholastic is certainly not a mecca of conservative thought, quite the opposite.
I wonder when you will write a book exploring the massive racism in Japan towards pretty much everyone. Where is that book? Yeah, didn’t think so.
ITT: A scared white person.
Yeah but Chris has a point. Y’all POCs act like only white people can be racist. Which, in and of itself, is racist. Case in point: all the responses to Chris’s post. Which isn’t excusing white racism, as suggested, but simply highlighting that it’s not so one-sided. Also, what happened to those Japanese American people, while terrible, was not unique to America and hardly an act of racism. During war, you neutralize the enemy, and those who appear to be the enemy. The same can be said for most of the world’s history. Is it racism when Africans incarcerate other Africans during tribal disputes?
Further, suggesting someone is a "MAGA" supporter simply because they’re white and calling out POC racism is so ridiculous I have to applaud. "Learning about racism is not bad". Sure. But let’s not pretend as though the paragraph that was stricken wasn’t screaming "white people are bad". Worse still, in a picture book, where kids should be learning to love each other regardless of appearance, we’ve got this author wagging her finger and then being upset a publisher didn’t want to get on board. What are children supposed to gather from this? "All white people are racist, which is racist but it’s fine because you’re marginalized and therefore incapable of racism?" foh.
In response to your comment, "During war, you neutralize the enemy, and those who appear to be the enemy." And yet, no action was taken against Americans of German descent. Why were Japanese Americans specifically recognized as "the enemy," if not for racism? I’ll be buying this book for my second grader, because, I want her to learn accurate history.
Come on, Chris, let’s not pretend you actually read books. You should just go back to watching OAN in your basement.
And the author didn’t write books on Japan because she is American, you moron.
U mad bro?
So anytime we are worried white readers might get their feelings hurt, we just don’t publish, right? We just go ahead and say that Japanese incarceration wasn’t racist and didn’t exist? Better yet, let’s just not publish any books that address racist history?? Can you please let us know how you’d like your facts delivered?? Oh, you don’t want them at all? Great. Knock yourself out with Captain Underpants, but some of us would actually like some truth and my guess is that Scholastic’s readership does not comprise a majority of MAGA conservatives. We all know these people feel about books in general. Sheesh.
Every time one of you no-hope goobers deliberately fails to get the point with your nonsense, I will purchase another copy of this book for the library in which I work. You would sell your own mother because you are craven. You’ve never created anything and never will.
Chris: It’s been an exceptionally good morning for me so I’m going to make an assumption here that you’re posting this in good faith with actual questions.
While white Americans are the current majority in the United States, why is it that you want to ignore the issues of racism in this country? History matters and the way we talk about history matters.
Having issues and confronting the realities of the country you live in is an important part of making that country better for all of it’s citizens. And some of those realities are ugly. Does Japan have issues with racism? Absolutely! But this is not a book about racism in Japan (of which there are plenty if you’d like to go look, tackling both historic issues as well as current) and we are not in Japan. This book is talking about Japanese Americans and the history in this country. Right here. Where we (at least you and I) live.
Currently the United States is having issues with mass legislative measures that aim towards banning books and limiting conversations and verbiage regarding race even when talking about the facts of our country’s past. Knowing history matters. Using the right language, language that may be uncomfortable to hear, about uncomfortable topics, is important. Providing a kinder (and false) history of the country is a disservice to everyone, especially the children that we’re talking about here, who go to Scholastic events. Asking to remove the word "racism" here is a direct result of these legislative measures and should be taken seriously. It starts here, with banning this word. And then, with support, grows until Scholastic becomes a "mecca of conservative thought".
Censorship policies deprive both educators and their students of the skills that they will need to have vital and critical conversations in the classroom and in the real world. It takes away from a person’s understanding of themselves and their country. Learning about racism is not "bad". Teaching history using these terms is not there (as many seem to think) to make people feel personal shame but to realize the reasons why equality is important and why we should strive for a better system than the ones in our past.
I wonder if you will take a minute to reflect on your own knee jerk reaction and post here and consider why it is you are really angry about Maggie’s post and letter.
I’m purchasing multiple copies for my local, neighbourhood, road-side "little libraries" and to donate to the county public library. You are a true inspiration. Thank you for standing up for what is right and honourable!
I can’t enlarge the photo. No idea what the proposed edit is….
Here’s a link to the full-size image: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54755d75e4b04f3a5af8f6e1/8c0b0a9b-7087-43c5-97f4-3f73c500dc35/Screen+Shot+2023-04-11+at+7.25.00+PM.png
Thank you for writing about this. As a bookseller it is important for us to know what is happening on your author side of the industry. This is crushing to read about. Of course every children’s book author knows what distribution through Scholastic would mean. It is not wrong to cry for the cruelty of the backhanded offer they made you. I’m so sorry this happened to you and I am grateful to you for sharing it publicly so other authors do not feel that they must make similar choices in a vacuum.
Been looking for a new book to read, where do I buy this one?
What you said in the Author’s Notes is inextricable from the story. Scholastic made a bad decision. Thank you for standing up to it.
Just another comment saying brava! And thank you for sharing publicly, and with swear words and tears and fears! All so very important. Headed out to buy your book now so it gets at least one more sold. Best of luck to you.
Thank you! Just ordered the book!
I just had Amazon send a copy to my local library.
Your letter to them gave me chills! I do so hope this doesn’t negatively affect your future endeavors. Thank you for standing up for this, for sharing your story and holding firm in your beliefs even when it’s so difficult.
I shall be adding this book to my collection and sharing it with all I know.
Don’t worry about her. She’s publicly posting all this to get that sweet, sweet social media nectar. She’ll probably make much more money now that she’s gotten so much attention vs. if she had just published some regular children’s book.
You must be very jaded to think one cannot do the right thing and gain recognition from it as morally acceptable. Even if it was self-interest, it was enlightened, and I will take enlightened self-interest over your negativity any day.
I read the response letter before I read the requested edit, and whilst I stated in support of it I was surprised that I actually agree with the proposed edit. I think the phrasing as racism being a deeply American tradition is missing the perspective that every society is racist and often deeply, it’s not a unique American tradition. The increased reach of the book would have exposed the message to a wider audience that could have given those new readers pause for thought on the actual story and situation – I’m assuming here racism can be clearly understood in the story’s context.
This is the authors choice and I’m genuinely sad that the offer caused offence to her, and sad for the audience who won’t get to read what sounds like a beautiful story and message.
For context I would categorise myself as left-leaning with socialist values while also moderate. I’m from Australia and the child of first generation migrants who were and are subject to racism as I was to a lesser extent, particularly growing up in school.
The author’s note never says that it is a uniquely American tradition, just that it is an American tradition.
She says a deeply American tradition. There’s an implication it’s special about America. It’s not. Especially against the Japanese. American racism does have some unique aspects and long term consequences regarding slavery, segregation policies in the general population and the lack of reparations to counter and compensate for such long term effects. To me that is deeply American.
The book is published in the US and imagines a US audience first and foremost. There is no reason for her to have to address every context in world history to make a point about US history.
That is overstating what was said by comparing it with an extreme position. Consider the very issue here of racism – by it’s nature it is relevant to consider the wider context of other countries. Racism itself comes from people in one country not having a wider perspective and understanding of populations and countries outside the US.
“ Racism itself comes from people in one country not having a wider perspective and understanding of populations and countries outside the US.”
Not the origin of racism.
America and Western values are the reason why slavery is illegal globally today and the reason why racism is taboo.
"It’s also bad elsewhere so we shouldn’t point out the problem here" is a really bad take.
Fuck scholastic! Well said Maggie!
Good for you. I wonder if Scholastic sells Caste. I doubt it because their requested edits would eviscerate the book, which I’m quite confident the author wouldn’t permit.
I recommend sharing this to the AAAS (Assoc of Asian American Studies) Community FB page.
This was incredibly amazing of you. I still can’t believe things like this happen in this day and age. Thank you for bringing light to your situation <3
This is such an appalling message on Scholastic’s part. Thank you for your courage in using your platform to call attention to this — I hope your voice adding to many others can finally bring about real change.
Thank you for sharing this horrible experience you have been through. Thank your your honesty and integrity and loyalty to the truth and the suffering of ancestors and of people today! Calling Scholastic out was brave! And absolutely the right thing to do. I think your book is so wonderful and bought it immediately for our library when it came out. We have read it, talked with our students, and we won’t stop until justice rights wrongs, true history is learned and equality is our world’s and nation’s norm and all thrive in safety. I look forward to your next books! And your voice, your views and your beauty continuing to light the world!!! Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this. Spreading word about your book DESPITE Scholastic!!
Thank you for standing up against this bullsht – you have a fan for life
Hi Maggie,
In case you’re unaware there is a lively (and supportive) discussion going on here in Mastodon:
https://fediscience.org/@ct_bergstrom/110189316980047283
Jake
I will be buying multiple copies of this book for the kids in my life. Thank you.
Maggie, you’re happy with the original publication,right? Altered or censored versions–forget it. I would have done the same thing. The story and words you wanted to write are still out there.
Ken Mochizuki, author of "Baseball Saved Us"
Hi Maggie. I haven’t read any of your books (yet! We will correct that 🙂 ), but a friend sent me this blog post. I appreciate your courage in the face of censorship. I am really surprised and disappointed that Scholastic has taken such a craven position. Kids need to hear messages like yours now more than ever. It is appalling that Scholastic is cow-towing to bigots instead of publishing positive messages.
I am so deeply disappointed in Scholastic. I appreciate your being true to yourself and your art. I look forward to putting a copy of your book on my book shelf.
You’ve got an army of booksellers at Powell’s City of Books ready to handsell this like candy! Absolutely repulsive. I hope you’re being good to yourself. I can’t imagine what kind of burden this must be. We’re with you, Maggie! You did the right thing.
Good on you. I came here from a Reddit post, which means that your story could be about to blow up. Which could mean media coverage, good or bad. Reality is ugly, but it’s the truth. The further we stray from truth, the further we move from reality. So thank you for your courage — and it is courage, because you’re taking a loss. Wishing you well.
I’m ready to buy a copy for my children simply because you told Goliath “absolutely not.” Thank you for standing firm in the truth and for honoring your people and your family. America’s favorite pastime isn’t baseball – it’s hateful racism.
Bless you for your boldness. 💗
As soon as I read this, I went online and bought a copy. I hope you find another publisher who won’t cave to the history re-writers.
Brave, honest and true. We stand behind you. I’m a white reader and I want to read this book. Scholastic do not speak for me.
I once worked as an editor at Scholastic, so this is disappointing on several levels. What I can’t stop wondering is how many other authors they’ve made similar requests of—and how many said yes. We will never know unless those authors speak out. Children’s book publishers should be in the business of educating and enlightening children. They should be brave in the face of book bans and threats. They should lead the way! I’m sad to know that Scholastic has taken the opposite path. You, however, have done the right thing in refusing the edit and making this public. I dare say you are making your family proud.
So sorry you had to endure this agonizing ordeal. But you made the right call! Thank you for sharing your pain; hopefully it’ll help the next author (because we know there will be a next author) make the same informed and confident decision. And I just bought a copy of "Love in the Library"! <3 Take care of youself.
Thank you, for standing up for what is right. Scholastic trying to be neutral in this is the company taking the side of the oppressor. We won’t forget what you have done for the community, Maggie. Thank you! Much love to you on your journey and may this and all books that follow be prosperous going forth.
I’m sorry, Maggie. It sucks that they dangled this in front of you. Surely they must have known what your response would be. You wouldn’t have put your stand in the author’s note if you didn’t feel strongly about it. Shame on Scholastic for taking the side of the vile, hateful, RACISTS. It’s time they took a look at themselves in the mirror. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you Maggie for standing up for what is right.
I’ve just submitted a purchase request for our library. Thank you for sharing your experience so others can step forward to support you. Scholastic (like other publishers) must do better.
I admire your courage for standing up for what is right. In these times we need to make hard choices and not sacrifice ourselves and our morality. I am a retired early elementary educator and would have definitely purchased this book for my classroom from Scholastic. Like many of us, hundreds of dollars were spent on Scholastic Books. It is disappointing to learn of this. Thank you.
It looks like Chris (who posted about whites being in the majority in the U.S.) may have gone away as I cannot reply to their post. I beg to differ with Chris. This is a children’s book. In the statistics for children in the U.S. whites are no longer in the majority. There are more children of color, bi-racial children and multi-race children than ever before. The tide has turned and many white people with racist ideologies are scared of losing their power and ability to oppress others. I believe that this is at the core of their outrage. It is heart-breaking that Scholastic is bowing to the white audience. I will be buying the book and sharing it with others.
Echoing many thoughts already shared. Good for you, and thank you!!! Would love to buy it – looks like Amazon doesn’t have – I would love to buy a new copy. Going to check other booksellers now so you get the credit (instead of buying used). Maybe Candlewick will consider another run?!
These editors and most importantly, those above them calling the shots, MUST be held accountable. This is not okay and I am commenting to thank you for your vulnerability. As you’re already seeing and I want to assure you, your community(ies) are showing up and will continue to stand with you.
You have this high school history teacher’s support! Students create children’s books for my WWII unit and I show them many examples of how published authors have grappled with racism, antisemitism and violence in their books. I’ve used Baseball Will Save Us for years as one exemplar and I have just ordered your book as well. I love that Ken Mochizuki gave you a shout out below! You did the right thing – both in refusing their toxic bargain and in putting them on blast. Thank you for being such a guiding light.
I’m sorry this happened. It is wrong. You are brave, but I wish you could be brave and supported like giants by Scholastic at the same time. You shouldn’t have to make choices like this. They need to do better.
As an employee of Scholastic, this is hard to swallow, and very disappointing. Please know that many of us within the company are passionate about diverse and uncensored literature. This was a business decision by someone who wasn’t putting the values and Credo of this company first and foremost. Love in the Library deserves to be celebrated as you have written it.
Kudos to you, Maggie, for standing up for your principles, and for your grandparents! And shame on Scholastic for demanding this repulsive edit from you. It feels like extortion.
I just ordered your book.
To the people who think that children don’t understand racism or need to know about it: They do. Children observe the world and understand more than you think they do. When I was a child, we kids got along fine (apart from the ordinary squabbles you find among any group of kids). It was the adults who had problems understanding why kids of differing races would want to be friends (how about, because that boy or girl was nice or funny or kind or smart and we liked them!). Children are far more accepting of each other than are many adults – until those adults teach them otherwise.
I can’t wait to read your grandparents’ story!
With the political climate as it is now, I’d probably want as many kids as possible everywhere to read more about these stories, even if ‘censored’… Now they won’t…
In a perfect world, there would be no censorship of course, but Florida and all the other states have shown that’s not the case. Although I’m 100% on the sentiment of the text on the Author’s Note on the book, editors have to work to try get these stories out there.
Having read the proposed edits, I understand their want to ‘tone it down’… maybe talking about murders of BLMs, childs in cages, although necessary, is a little strong for kids in that age?
So, maybe this is somehow news to you, but little black and brown kids experience racism, systemic and personally directed, all the time. It’s not reasonable, and is racist, obviously, to suggest we should protect little white kids from an instant of either discomfort or empathy from knowing that. Yuck. Your comment is terrible and you should be so very ashamed of it.
My deep respect and (whatever it is Worth) support for your decision. And my admiration for making it a public case, showing the way that should be taken.
Greetings and solidarity from Poland.
Dear Maggie,
One of my favorite parts of the book was the author’s note and I totally appreciated you telling the truth and calling it what it is! Racism. I am working with teachers and prior to knowing any of this I had selected this book to share in May with suggested discussion questions based on your author’s notes so students could think about the imprisonment of Japanese Americans and compare it to similar events occurring today. There are many white people out there like me who celebrate your bravery, honesty, and desire to tackle and rectify past wrongs. I feel especially connected to this dark episode in our nation’s history because my parents had good friends in college whose families had been incarcerated. I remember being told as a young child in the 60’s about this terrible thing that was done to Japanese Americans and being shown two lovely carved and painted wooden birds made by Art, their father. I am honored to now own these two birds, an example of gaman, “enduring the unbearable with dignity and grace.” Thank you so much for the book and for the stand you took. I am grateful to you. Your story with publishers and standing up for what is right will now be part of my sharing. And I will be encouraging all of these teachers to purchase Love in the Library.
Best wishes and gratitude to you and deepest apologies to your grandparents,
Jenni
Thank you for not changing a single word. I’ve ordered copies for my children and as gifts. I’ve shared this post on social media. Thank you!
Dear Maggie,
I am ordering copies of your book right now. Thank you for making this offensive offer public.
Nick
Plain and simple, you are a hero. I salute your guts and your principles. This is the moment to stand for truth and reality, and you’re doing it.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I just made a backorder purchase through bookshop.org. Wishing you the best of luck in your career!
So sorry you had to struggle through this! Amazing you were able to stand up for what is right. What they asked not only dishonors your story, it dishonors your grandparents experience. It dishonors education. And it does a disservice not only to those who are going through what your family has been through but also to all those who have no idea this sort of thing happened. The only way to truly come together is to first understand ourselves. Both good and bad. Pretending the bad isn’t there is building a castle made of sand
I just read about this on Apple News. I am so very sorry. Good on you for not conceding. Continue to stay strong moving forward. . Jane
Where can one purchase your book?
I read your NPR piece and now your blog entry. From one very left-leaning, person of color to another, I’d like to give you some thoughts on your views.
I think the problem stems, based on your rhetoric, that you blame racism on a country and a race. Namely, the United States and white people. I think you are incorrect in that thought process.
Let’s talk about country for a bit. Here are some of your quotes: "Hate is not a virus; it is an American tradition". "But it is to situate it in the deeply American tradition of racism".
Do you think racism is merely an American problem or tradition? When I hear that, I think you haven’t lived in other countries. Let’s talk about my country for a bit: Chile. The US is like a full decade more advanced than Chile (and many other countries) in realizing other marginalized groups (race, LGBTQ+, women, you name it). I cringe when I hear people on the street in Chile or my family talk, not in hushed tones, but overtly, about black people, homophobic slurs, Asians, even about just darker people than them! If you were spotted in Chile, you would be called "China" (Chinese). I have to correct my family that, no, if they look Asian that does not mean they are all Chinese! They could be Korean, Japanese, Thai, etc. The amount of racism that has occurred between the brown Chileans, and the more brown natives (Mapuche, Aymara, etc) is the same horrible sad story that has happened in the US.
So, is that racism is just an “American tradition” and a Chilean one? Well, let’s talk about another country here. You can really pick ANY country in the world, but how about we put a lens on your heritage country Japan? We look at your heritage country and mine, and then can truly surmise if “Hate is an American Tradition”. The Japanese brutality (I am not exaggerating there) of Chinese people during the occupation of China is as bad as anything out there. I would, with trepidation, read about the “Rape of Nanking” as once you read something you can’t “unread” something that horrific. But, yes, the most horrific things you can imagine occurred against Chinese people: mass rape, mass murder, mass incarceration, slavery (how many women slaves were taken back to Japan currently unaccounted for?), and yes concentration camps that make the ones against Japanese people during WWII here seem absolutely tame. Given all that, what’s the Japanese government’s stance towards this horrific piece of history? Well, they absolutely white-wash it and absolve it from all classroom textbooks (look that up). There is no teaching at all to Japanese students about the Second Sino-Japanese War. While Japan is a country with little diversity (it is about 98% ethnic Japanese), one could wonder how the Japanese would treat an influx of black Africans, brown South Americans, white Europeans, etc. Would they be treated equally? Judging by how they treat the Phillipinos and Vietnamese who go there to work in low-paying jobs such as house cleaners and laborers, there are serious doubts that it would be a non-racist society.
So is it just the US, Chile, and Japan? No, pick any country (and I really mean ANY country) in the world and do a deep dive into its history and how they have treated other marginalized groups. Racism and hate is not an “American Tradition”, it’s a human tradition, and it’s ubiquitous all over the world.
The second problem I see with your rhetoric is you blame racism on a specific race. Racism is not limited to one race. There is racism all over the world from my brown ancestors to your Japanese ancestors. You name call white people over and over again as the culprit of racism in your blog. Here’s a good test to see if you, yes you yourself, are being racist, change all of your words “white” to some other race and read it out loud. Here’s some stuff you wrote
“our dubious white ally, does so often to marginalized creators.”
“They want to sell our suffering, smoothed down and made palatable to the white readers they prioritize”
“To assuage white guilt with stories that promise to make them better people, while never threatening them, not even with discomfort.”
Change that “white” to any other race, and it smacks you with how racist it sounds.
Do you think that your white readers are not going to feel insulted by that? How do you think all white people feel when you call all of them a “dubious ally”? The truth is, that racism is one definition, and it doesn’t matter if it’s coming from the oppressor to the oppressed or vice-versa. To get equality and voice for people of color, LGBTQ, women, and other marginalized groups, you have to stamp out racism everywhere; even the racism towards the majority. So, when you say, “white people” this, “white people” that with impunity, that’s racism.
I’ll finish with your words, "I think they’re losing the opportunity to talk about the truth, to learn the truth, to discuss it…. No substantive change for the better can be made without reconciliation with the truth."
So let’s talk about the truth. Many white Americans are racist. Many, many more are not. Categorizing racism as a white against others is wrong and most definitely racist in itself. Racism is most certainly not an American tradition; it is a sad world-wide human tradition. We have valued and protected our clan since time immemorial, we’ve been fearful of other clans different than us, and that has happened in every single corner world. The other inconvenient truth for you is that you may be racist against white people. Maybe you are not, but certainly, without a doubt, your rhetoric is most certainly racist against white people. You are a social justice minded person, like I consider myself, but I must tell you, how do you expect change if you don’t model it?
Sorry but "american tradition of racism" does not imply other countries free of racism
Hey Rodrigo, you have a truly excellent, thoughtful, and detailed post here. Unfortunately, you will not be heard. Apparatchiks are not interested in nuance or honest discourse. It’s simple, Maggie gets a huge status boost by providing fodder like this. Publicly shaming and distorting the words and intentions of people to get that social currency is par for the course on the far-left. It’s the equivalent of a person on the far-right finding a school that does a "drag time story hour" and distorting that to be "grooming". Let them eat each other, it’s better to just stay out of it and try to find people (of any political persuasion) who aren’t insane. In other words, "You cannot reason a person out of what they never reasoned themselves into."
Oh no her views make you feel uncomfortable and you feel she is dealing with a complicated issue with less nuance than the issue warrants. Just imagine if she knew how that felt
If you’ve ever seen the phrase "whataboutism" and wondered what it was referencing — this post is a perfect example.
Also the sooner people stop trying to claim that marginalized people who have suffered racism and prejudice at the hands of white people are racist for acknowledging this, the sooner people will take them seriously.
FWIW I am a white queer leftist. The problem with your very long, unsolicited advice is you are still laboring to please white people. You are accepting Scholastic’s frame that the problem isn’t the message, it is the specific words and tone the author chose to convey it.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the problem. The problem is there is no good and acceptable way for POC to address racism without making white audience uncomfortable.
I am white. And rather than nitpick on this word or that, I will just choose to take it in. Listen and try to understand the ramifications and reverberations that heinous crimes like slavery and internment visit on people for generations. Her author’s note does not and cannot hurt me. It deserves to be heard.
And bravo to the author for enduring a real sacrifice to make her voice heard.
Dear Maggie,
I wish that what you describe would not be a shared experience in other areas of life, workspaces or career paths. It repeats everywhere, even among family and friends.
Speaking up and calling racism and white supremacy by their names leaves those of us who speak up (regularly the BIPOC) at the risk of further stigmas such as: being problematic, not strategic, too loud, an attacker, etc.
Does that mean we stay silent? Strategize so we “navigate” the system at cost of our own sense of integrity? Do we swallow our frustration and anger? F$&@ No!
Anger it is a powerful energy. We use it to create and evolve. And in order to create and evolve, we need to clearly see and name what we will no longer bring with us into the future. Thank you for naming it.
In admiration, support and gratitude. Your book will made its way to my classroom bookshelf.
Your author’s note is hard to read on this website. You should enlarge it.
I’m turned off by the blurb "deeply American tradition of racism." As if saying this country is inherently racist to its core. That’s a deeply hurtful and untrue thing to say about ALL Americans.
The foundation of the entity that is the United States of America is rooted in racism; the two cannot be separated.
You may be turned off. That’s unfortunate. I’m turned off by your comment.
Because you don’t want to accept the truth. If it hurts, than you need to look in the mirror and ask yourself why? Realize what it is and work to make this world better.
Well amy you are a part of the problem if you can’t acknowledge that this country has a very long standing history of racism which continues to this very day. I too find your comment offensive.
I agree, but it’s still censorship.
I am a recently retired educator and writer, trained to teach -and experienced- with ages K- adult. I spent much of my career imparting the message that even small hints of racism and hate and bigotry of any kind are highly volatile, and extremely dangerous. I am well educated about world history, and American history, including the tragic parts. As an editor, my question to any author, including this one, would be: Who is your intended reader? What is their age, reading and comprehension level? What point are trying to make? Do your words and choice of language serve that message and your story? I embrace her story and her message and her right to say what she thinks in her author’s note. I do wonder, however, if the level of sophistication of her vocabulary and message in her author’s note are appropriate for her intended reader.
The supposed lack of sophistication of children’s vocabulary is a reach. And if the "intended audience" doesn’t understand, that’s what teachers and parents are for.
I applaud your decision and completely agree with your position.
This period in history has been completely ignored and glossed over. they would rather it be forgotten so it can happen again instead of facing the cold reality of what was done to many established families and businesses in this country.
Thank you.
Just read this after reading the NPR article. Applauding you and your book and your decision. I would have loved this book during my elementary school years when I was so excited to order Scholastic Books. there are so many areas of the USA that do not have excellent libraries for children (or adults). I hope you have them publish it complete with your unchanged author’s note and a major marketing push to make it more visible and reach more people. Make them fully stand behind it and promote it!
Cancel culture has come for the left
Ms. Tokuda-Hall, Thank you. I am so sorry the state of decision-making by public opinion has put you in this position. After seeing the piece on NPR, I am of course, now aware of your book and more interested than I would ever be to read it, own it and talk with my friends about it. I applaud your steadfast position on the question of censorship. I would like to think that just a relatively few loud people are getting an outsized voice to try to ignore or change history. I believe we should always question and evaluate anything we hear or read and make our own informed decisions. Trying to censor you is wrong — whether people would actually like your book or not; agree with it or not. I hope you and your publisher will continue to reject the demands of others and hold to your sense of right.
The truth is that everyone is racist. It’s just a matter of degree. Being aware of this is the first step in addressing racist issues. Actively educating is essential. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/busting-myths-about-human-nature/201607/we-re-all-bit-racist?amp
Absolutely the right move on both rejecting their wicked edit and the publicity which is power to fight down those who wish to profit from our labors yet silence our real struggles.
Saw your story on NPR. I bought the book immediately. Scholastic cannot, WILL NOT, censor American History because some moms for “liberty” have hurt feelings. America and its history (in part) is built on racism. Our children need to know this so that they can do better. So we can fix it.
Keep writing Maggie!!
Much respect to you, Maggie! I support you 100% and I’m going to purchase your book. Here in FL, our ‘lovely’ governor is banning books by Black authors and is attempting to shield children from the truth about racism. It’s incredibly disheartening, to say the least. Our stories should never be watered down for anyone.
I’m married a man whose parents came from Korea. He himself states that Koreans are some if the most racist people. I have witnessed this first hand. I have taught in East African charter schools here in America and the hate between ones who were born here and the one’s who are new to the U.S is horrible. I’m not saying racism doesn’t exist or white people are not racist but does it mean it’s only an American white tradition? I have read a similar book to my boys and talked how the Japanese Americans were treated at this time. I truly believe in educating people about our past history in America and definately not from all the history books that old white men wrote but your words are only creating a wider divide. I really don’t have a problem with the word racist but to say it’s an American tradition I don’t agree with. I know my words will not matter because I’m white but I also have biracial kids that I would die for and want them to be proud of their Korean culture.
Racism is absolutely an American tradition; from its "discovery" to the present. Noting that truth doesn’t mean racism doesn’t exist in other places, but no one does it better than here; not even in Europe, where the colonists came from.
Thanks for standing your ground. It’s important to teach kids about racism so history stops repeating and our country becomes a more open and accepting place to live. My dad’s friend Bob Nakamura lived in an internment camp. All I remember hearing about it was that he liked the ice cream there, but the fact that they were forced to leave their homes was so wrong. I hope your book sells many copies and is widely available. I’m glad Scholastic apologized for their mistake.
Thank you for standing your ground. I read your book at library and the racism is a very important context to the story.
Rodrigo says everything I wanted to convey in my comment before I had to look up the word "majoritively" and Google lost my page. I am white and was offended by her generalization of Scholastics readership being the reasons for they’re suggestions and also thought (confirmed by Ridrigo) that those comments were racist. Ridrigo, you are very intelligent, wise and very well spoken.. Nonetheless, I agree 100% with the author and her decision. It is Scholastics loss to love a story someo e wrote based on life experiences and to exclude a very important part of that experience.
I am buying this book. And I will encourage everyone I know to buy this book and put it in little libraries and everywhere else they can think of. Because dammit, this has to stop. It’s Scholastic’s loss, yes, but it’s also OUR loss. And our children’s loss.
Thank you for your candid reply and thank you so much for sharing this story! I am shocked by the duplicitous actions of Scholastic! You are to be commended for being brave and putting it out there. I will be buying this book and asking my library to buy it.
Thank you!!! I know how scary it is to speak out, how time consuming, and how emotionally exhausting. This letter is a far more important work than erasing your ideals to publish at scholastic. Buying the candlewick!
It is outrageous that Scholastic Books seeks to hide factual, historical references to the past and ongoing racism in the U.S.!
As a teacher and parent, this brings me to question the judgement of the decision makers at Scholastic Books. This profit-making company is not welcome anymore in our schools if they seek to ban the historical truths that our children need to be taught in order for them to begin to erase the systemic racism that tragically has occurred from the foundation of our country and is increasing in the present day! Shame on Scholastic Book publishers!!!
Get your books to public libraries ! Shame on Scholastic ! Teaching our history is the only way we will ever overcome the deeply flawed views of past generations !!
Well written and moving. Brava, Maggie!
I just ordered a copy to read to my son.
Go, go, go! As a Jewish author, I understand some (but not all) of your issues. And I applaud you for holding true to your beliefs. You’re right, you are much stronger than they are for refusing their offer. Your grandparents would be proud.
I can only imagine it feels like you had no choice but to make the decision you did. Yet you did have a choice and you chose to be courageous, and bold, and trailblazing. Thank you. I am buying copies of the book to distribute as far and wide as I can reach.
Their apology was so bad, too. Not knowing they were doing something racist because they didn’t ask their AANHPI “mentors?” I knew it was racist and I didn’t have to ask anyone! They’re expecting a marginalized community to educate them. A publishing company. With all of their resources and access to the internet.
There’s a difference between nationality and race. It was stated that the U.S. imprisoned Japanese-Americans. That’s not racism, especially when the U.S. was at war with Japan. It becomes a matter of national security at that point.
The U.S. was also at war with Germany, but German-Americans were not rounded up, their property confiscated, and whole families put in camps. Take a look at the media of the time- it is absolutely clear that racism was deep and widespread and that it fueled the treatment of Japanese Americans (and Japanese Canadians).
Actually, Germans were rounded up and put in American camps and some were sent back to a destroyed Germany against their will, many in exchange for American POWs, something many Americans are unaware of. A fascinating book about the camp is The Train to Crystal City by Jan Jarboe Russel.
It’s sad.
Censoring real historical facts as they really happened is an insult.
If people are too flaky and too sensitive to hear REAL truths that are often uncomfortable, they can either grow up and learn emotional intelligence along with personal integrity, or get out of teaching.
I wouldn’t want my child shielded from ANY truth REGARDLESS of how painful, otherwise how could she grow up learning right from wrong?
I applaud you for sticking to your principles 🙏
This is disgusting. You have my respect and I will try to get a copy of your work. The fact that the U.S is trying so hard to censor everything that doesn’t make the white man proud is truly horrible.
Maggie, I’m so sorry this is happening to you, and to every author of a banned book. It is horrifying that history scares people so much. It dooms us to repeat it. I’ve been going into indy stores asking where their banned book display is and was shocked when I went into my local indy and learned there is no banned books display. I am contacting the owner to request one, as I’m doubtful the complaint I registered stuck. I will go into my local library and do the same. As you know, I am a huge fan of your books and await your next one, which I will buy. (I loved interviewing you on my podcast a few years ago.) You’re an amazing writer, and a brave woman to reject Scholastic. I hope they step up and do the right thing.
Hi!
A friend posted about this and today I saw a piece on NPR’s website about your situation as well. On NPR it says Scholastic apologized, and they’re offering to license the book with the author’s note unchanged. I expect it may be more complicated than that, but it sounds like you protested and won. I hope you see it as a victory, and that you can come to terms with Scholastic. Children have the opportunity to not only learn from your grandparents’ story, but yours as well.
Best of luck!
Ross H.
It is the Republic that is racist to its core, not America.
Good for you! Stand up and stand proud. After reading about your book and your response, I thought of another Asian American book I love, Ruby’s Wish. Ruby had to stand up to her grandfather because she felt that the boys in the family were better treated than the girls. As hard as it is to stand up for yourself, your family, and for what you think, or know, is right, it is imperative to do so for change to occur. I’m proud of you and can’t wait to share your book with my students.
Thank you for your courage and honesty in speaking truth to power. I am at Highlights this week. We listened to Carole Boston Weatherford speak about poetry as critical literacy. Your experience sadly is the latest example that we have so far to go.
Thank you Maggie.
We have your beautiful book in our library collection (currently displayed as a staff pick). What a shame and a complete missed opportunity for Scholastic. – pardon my swears but- Fuck their apology.
Well said. Unapologetic. They fear the truth they can’t hide anymore.
Thank you for sharing this. This is so important. Gonna buy many copies of your book from a small local bookseller.
I am an elementary school librarian and purchased this book for our library without knowing the back story. And now that I know it all (I admit I didn’t read the author’s note until today) I can’t wait to read it to my sixth grade students and share your author’s note with them! Good for you for standing up to what’s right.
Thank you for posting about this. We need to call out the bs and share publicly, that’s the only way forward. I appreciate your bravery. (from a white woman). Now I’ll go buy your book.
When I came to America at 6 years old, I was lucky enough to go to a School that talked about racism in an unfiltered and honest way. This introduction to America’s history did not make me feel hopeless or targeted. It gave me hope that I lived in a country where we could tell the truth. It strengthen my belief that America at least endeavored to do better and learn from its mistakes. By putting the responsibility of racism on the racist or oppressor, I was given a gift that protected me and planted a seed of resilience when faced with racism in my life. Little children know the difference between right and wrong, it’s not complicated. I imagine that if I had not have the privilege of this education I may have internalized the idea that somehow I was less than another simply because of my race. Traditions, change and evolve with a true American values, including freedom of speech. Maybe someday our traditions will reflect those values. I’ve had that hope since I was six and continue to have it today.
BRAVO TO YOU!!!!!!
and more power too!
Your author’s note is perfection. I love how you tied the story to past and current history. Seriously it is perfection. I’m so sorry this happened but I applaud you and loved your response. Now I’m going off to buy your book!!
After reading about your experience, I went and bought your book. We need voices like yours, especially right now!
Thank you for your courage and integrity! Buying your book!
I read your book. I hope you can make as many more as you desire, with censorship being as small of a stone in your shoe as possible. Those publishers will be falling over themselves to get you back! Stay strong!
Thank you for your resilience and bravery. This fight is worthwhile.
Thank you so much.
OMG I am so angry FOR you. >:^( Your author note and your reply to Scholastic are amazing. #hero
Good for Scholastic.
You are to share your personal story, not give political commentaries. If you are to give political commentaries, they should be nuanced and properly argued for; writing platitudes and blanket statements is not only unprofessional but intellectually lazy.
It never fails to amaze me how incredibly dumb white readers are. They have no problem reading about dragons but can’t handle the truth. Seems to me that THEY are ones who are intellectually lazy.
I admire your courage and your integrity.
Scholastic has no damn right to expect you to sanitise your book about Japanese Incarceration. To be frank, it’s an issue on Scholastic’s part to expect you to take out the word "racism", because they’re just implicitly showing that they don’t want to hurt the fragility of white readers nor do they want to allow you to share the lived experiences of people who went through traumatic experiences of Japanese Incarceration.
If there was a way that I can read a PDF of your book, I would do so because I want to support you and your works.
-Anonymous
You can support the author by buying the book.
I came to your blog post from an NPR story. I am reading this post with tears and an Asian daughter asking why I am crying. Thank you for standing up to Scholastic and using your voice to shine light on systemic racism within the publishing industry. You are brave and courageous and have done more by speaking up than you know.
I am deeply disappointed in Scholastic & incredibly impressed by you. They had an opportunity to share an important part of this country’s history at a level children can understand & they decided fragile egos were more important.
On the other hand, you made your decision with truth and honesty. Thank you.
We can not let inequitable powers at hand erode our sense of integrity and to obscure the truth. Thank you. Thank you for your courage, for choosing integrity and truth. Thank you for making this public so that we can all be aware of the ways white supremacy continues to show up in curating culture, thought, and access.
Scholastic Books were a mainstay of my children’s library. But after reading how they wanted to silence your description of the actual truth in America, I can see that they have been corrupted by a desire to edit truth. I had to have this book, and bought it for my 63rd birthday. You must stand up to power! To paraphrase Maya Angelou, "When you know better, you must do better." This blog post is going in my copy of your book, to fully inform the reader of your experience. I want my husband to write the story of his parishioners’ lives in the camp they lived in Washington State. He said their story continued to bring tears many years after the fact. We must do better!
Sherry V.
I am so, so sorry.
I’m not surprised Scholastic asked to remove the political word salad of charged progressive phrases ("medical apartheid", "food deserts", "police murder black people", "kids in cages", "stolen land" etc) from a children’s book. All of that stuff isn’t framed in a way that kids can learn and half of it is old trump era gripes. I also think it’s kind of gross that this is what progressive politics looks like these days, fighting to keep "Hate […] is an American tradition" in a children’s book targeted at ages 6-9. Is this a book for kids or a book for parents to have on their shelves to demonstrate their progressive bonafides?
Talk about a word salad… “old trump era gripes”? You mean the same Trump currently running for president? The same Trump that millions of white people still believe today as the winner of the election?
As an author and long-time freelance writer, I know a little bit about how difficult it is to say no to an amazing offer. It would have been very easy to go along with Scholastic’s offer. You did not — and for that, I have nothing but the deepest respect.
Wow. That is crazy. Good for you!
Nope, I’m an immigrant of color and understand why Scholastic asked you to tone down the rhetoric in your author’s note. I would not want my children to be told in such anger that all of America is racist. It’s one thing to say that there are examples of racism. It is quite another to paint an entire nation in its present form as racist, or to say that the immigrants in cages is a racist issue rather than an immigrant crisis. Thank you Scholastic.
Plenty of white people have expressed far more sympathy for animals than they have for migrant children in cages. Being a person of color does not immunize you from having racist attitudes either, like thinking an “immigrant crisis” somehow excuses people being put in cages. In the history of the United States, the only other time we put people arriving to this country in cages was when Africans were kidnapped and enslaved and sent here. Gee, I wonder why that treatment only happens to Black and brown people…
As a former public school , now homeschool teacher, I completely agree. To write a personal author’s note is one thing; to insert such anger and infer that all of America is racist now is completely another. I would love to read your grandparents’ story, but I will not be supporting your book. Save the rant for your blog, not a children’s book.
Well now I’m DEFINITELY buying your book. Maybe more than one copy. I stand with you. Our country was built on racism. We can and will do better, but only if we learn from our mistakes.You did the right thing.White washing history is never the answer. Shame on you Scholastic. And good for you Maggie. I work at a library in Walnut Creek, California. I’m going to make sure we carry your book
Critical support to Comrade Maggie.
Amerikkka was indeed built on racism, and racism can only be destroyed when we tear up its material source by the roots: capitalism, settler-colonialism, imperialism, and patriarchy. This being done, books like yours will be able to thrive.
I wanted to let you know I just read the article in the New York Times today and immediately purchased the book. Perhaps is a good sign, several of the list of vendors on the publisher site, show the book on backorder.
Good for you for standing up to this pressure. We might cut Scholastic some slack in wanting to sell the greatest number of books and not putting a lightning rod right up front that would hurt sales. I assume the rest of the book is unequivocal about the injustice and racism behind the internment camps. Every child should learn what a shameful stain that was.
To all the lefty commenters here who think "Amerikkka" has not progressed, let me quote George Bush on 9/17/2001. " America counts millions of Muslims amongst our citizens, and Muslims make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country. Muslims are doctors, lawyers, law professors, members of the military, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, moms and dads. And they need to be treated with respect. In our anger and emotion, our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect." Too bad FDR did not say similar words after Pearl Harbor.
The irony of quoting George W. Bush of all people to try to make a point about American “progress” with regards to racism. The same George Bush whose Iraq War killed half a million Muslims? The same George Bush who approved of torturing and imprisoning hundreds of Muslims without due process?
While I am certainly proud to be an American, and believe our country has the greatest ideals, and I would not want to live anywhere else, I also recognize that we are far from perfect, and that we must continue to effectively strive to meet our ideals. With that said, I’m very concerned about the accelerated process to ban books and alter them in ways inconsistent with the author’s intention.
One of the greatest skills taught, or used to be taught in schools, was critical thinking. Of course, being age-appropriate is important yet I believe our children are smart enough to be able to understand and appreciate the difference between our ideals and reality, and our continuing efforts to achieve our ideals.
It’s OK to walk and chew gum at the same time. We can understand what George Washington did as father of our Country, while also recognizing his human faults, and the faults of the era with respect to slavery.
I hope that we can turn away from banning and instead discuss methodology and critical thinking, as well as age-appropriateness. We need to be less tribal, or we will end up with internment camps again.
Maggie –
Your backbone in the face of corporate temptation is truly inspiring, yours is a beautiful tale, and to take it out of context with the world they lived in would change the tone entirely. Your author’s note is direct and for this age, entirely appropriate. Sometimes we need that tap on the shoulder to connect the past with the rising present, in the hopes that our truly sickening history does not repeat the same story with new players. I am afraid too, but you make me less afraid and give me strength to stand up for myself and others who look like me.
Thank you for your courage. I just ordered a copy, and it is backordered on both the bookstore you recommend as well as from Candlewick. Hopefully that is a good thing.
Thank you for your courage and for insisting on the truth. Scholastic has crossed a line, betraying the very brand its name implies. Racism has a long and storied history in the US, and it is, without question, a significant problem to this day. While anyone is welcome to argue the contrary, or temper the claims of others, the alteration and banning of books to simply cover up reasonable statements of an uncomfortable truth is political extremism, and corporations who follow this lead, putting profit margins above reasonable truth, should be held to account. Thank you again for standing up. I plan to buy a copy of your book.
Among us.
I am so sad, and so disappointed in Scholastic.
Scholastic had no choice.
I agree with your brave decision to reject Scholastic’s offer, but I also understand that Scholastic had to require this aggressive edit. I find it frustrating that people can’t understand both views.
Scholastic cannot operate as a business – doing a great deal of good, such as trying to share this story – without maintaining its business and relationships in Republican districts. It has a larger mission: providing essential education for children in the U.S. It can’t serve its mission if it ignores the views of its own constituents, half of whom would be offended by this (clearly accurate) message about racism.
It is possible to do business, and compromise, with people who disagree with you. Scholastic must. The author of "Love in the Library" may choose otherwise. Neither party is wrong. Until everyone understands this, we are in deep trouble.
Thanks for taking this stand-until we can talk about racism- and other biases – we won’t ever get the problem resolved. Jeff, from West Virginia
You are mind reading when you describe in your blog post Scholastic’s decision making process to ask for revisions in your author’s note. In fact you don’t know what their intentions were. A perfectly reasonable explanation is that your author’s note impugns America as a nation – not just in the past but in the present. You are describing for 6 to 9 year olds an America that none of them would recognize from their daily encounters in school, with their families, with their communities. The folks who will read your blog know that your examples are all "true". But what they are most certainly not, are "the truth". Life in America is so much more complicated – and beautiful – than that. For every horrifying instance of racially-motivated hate and violence, there are many orders of magnitude more instances of a society and a people that protect, educate, provide for, and enlighten fellow Americans.
I would challenge anyone who reads my comment to judge this country from your daily interactions – not the worst interactions of OTHER people that we read about day in and day out in the media. YOUR own interactions with friends, family, coworkers, the people who provide service to you, the people who you provide service to. Does your experience of America match the country which Maggie claims to factually represent to our children?
I am a great reader, and still read children’s literature after more than 50 years on the planet. However, I am a concert pianist and not a person of letters. Thus it wasn’t until today that I found out about all this, and read your blog post. As I read what you wrote here, I found myself sitting up straighter and welling up with joy and pride. I applaud you for walking onto this field and making it a better place to play. BRAVA!!!
Racism is not a deeply American tradition. It is a deeply human tradition. There is a middle ground here. Keep the references to racism, because that is what lay behind Japanese internment camps. However, get rid of the American exceptionalism. American exceptionalism is bad for both accolades and critiques, and certainly in the context of WW2, making racism an exceptionally American trait strikes me as insensitive to Jews, Roma, Koreans and the Chinese. But at the end of the day, Scholastic’s primary legal duty is to shareholders and investors. If this work does not align with that, then there are other publishers out there.
If we dont stand up for what is morally correct than we are no better than the terrible period in Germany before/during WWII. Did all those good people die for nothing? To sacrifice historical truth on the alter of commerce is a description of a Greek tragedy.
This is not surprising at all. Last year the rep for my bookfair told me they would not send any books that covered “hard topics” to my school because we have children in 6th grade and below. Let’s just say I didn’t accept her answer. It took a lot of back and forth before they relented. It’s a parent’s choice what their children read, not Scholastic’s.
You should take a look at the comments on the New York Times article (a publication that leans left and is thoroughly against book bans). Many of them agree with Scholastic.
There is so much goodness and so much sadness in your words and in the other comments here. These terrible things happened to your family, and the families of my childhood friends. Of course you have a strong opinion! I don’t completely agree with your belief that deeply rooted racism is uniquely American, but I do believe the desire to root it out and clean up past and present injustices is a great thing. Doing that is messy and painful. I’m buying your book, and look forward to discussing it with my grandchildren. All of it- including your author’s note.
I’m very interested in connecting with you as i recently completed writing my first book about a trained African military officer by US army who later turned against his people and leader and took power illegally through a military coup after returning from the United States training camp. He later turned to be worst African dictator in modern day history
HURRAY!!!!! Thank you for taking a stand against the whitewashing of America!!! Those Americans who ban books because of hatred or fear of racism and LGBTQ+, are you afraid your children will see these books and have the American freedom to ask "Why did this exist? or "Why didn’t your generation do something?" Have you forgotten Freedom Riders and the Civil Rights Movement in the 60’s or are you secret "Klu Klux Klansmen" telling libraries and schools how to teach and what to read? How dare you tell authors who have copyrighted their works to change a few words to make you more comfortable (and not accountable to your children) . How are you helping them to cope with the society of today? You aren’t shielding them from learning life; they’ll be unprepared for the life they’ll lead when they’re on their own. I’m amazed that all of these banning articles doesn’t reference the names who claim to be "THEM" or "THEY" or "THOSE". Are they willing to hide behind anonymity, but afraid to mention their names???? America has gone through this cycle so many times I thought this was all over, but then another generation who is afraid comes forward. FOR SHAME! Didn’t your parents teach you anything or are you just learning you can’t confront life, too? You can’t hide what you don’t understand. Linda Agan Shea (WHITE) 75 year old human person, who went to an IRISH CATHOLIC COLLEGE in the "’Banned in Boston" environment in the 70’s who has moved to Houston and maintains friendships with Afghanistans, Nigerians, Congolese Viet Nam, and South Korean people.
There was a study of the Utah camp done by a professor of economics at Utah State University. It was published in 1962 and was finally digitized and made available 12 years ago.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/honor_lectures/23/
The cover title font is ridiculous and there are elements of whitewashing but nonetheless the conclusion was that the policy was wrong and racially motivated. The additional conclusion that it wasn’t even an economically sound policy is telling.
The most interesting to me were the more human parts, the details of what these American families and individuals lost, what the cost in reparations might be, where they came from and their professions prior to internment, where they went upon leaving that location, how they organized themselves within the camp in terms of leadership and jobs, etc. It’s well worth reading.
Integrity over personal gain. You provide an excellent example. I have always supported the purchase of Scholastic Education publications and book series for use in my school district. No longer. Thank-you for your bravery.
As a white person… I am far mor concerned about the person my children become. I really doubt that they will feel any true “guilt” when they read what white america has done, but by all that is good, I hope that they learn righteous anger. I hope they learn honesty as they look at the nation’s past, I hope they learn kindness and a willing to sacrifice for others’ as they go into the future. I hope they learn to make this a better place wherever they can. If people are truly afraid that their children will be ashamed, they are parenting wrong.
Thank you for taking a stand and for letting us know about your courage. While children need to know the US history that we are not proud about as well as the moments when we embody the values we aspire to have. We can show kindness when we accept the moments when we as a nation were not kind. And the actions that where we continue to be racist.
Congratulations, Maggie. It might seem weird to be commended on being courageous, but in todayʻs world, it really does take guts. You are an inspiration! I just bought my copy, and I hope everyone reading about your story buys one and encourages their libraries to carry it, too.
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Maggie, this is amazing! Ordering this right away. I am the parent of a daughter and I came across this post doing research on Scholastic because I am appalled at how the book fair at her school contains so many non-book items and reduces kids to consumers. You are a hero of these times.