Have They Ruined Our Beloved Scholastic Book Fair?
Oh, Scholastic Book Fair. If you made your way through a public school in North America anytime during the past half-century, you should recall that shiny catalog. That sudden, circus-like presence in the school library. On Monday, the critic Michelle
Scholastic Book Fairs, once a beloved part of North American schools, are facing criticism for their focus on popular franchises and merchandising rather than promoting reading. In an essay for The Walrus, critic Michelle Cyca recalls how the fairs as a child were a key touchstone of Millennial culture, filled with order forms and beloved series like Animorphs and Goosebumps.
However, Cyca's daughter's current fair catalog contained far more extended "extensions of toy or TV franchises," with offerings centered around brands like Lego, Pokémon, and Paw Patrol, rather than imaginative storytelling. This shift raises questions about the purpose and impact of Scholastic Book Fairs in an era of declining reading skills.
The fairs have historically raised funds for under-resourced schools, but Cyca argues that today's fair is more about consumerism and inequality than fostering a genuine love of reading. Some, like Book Riot editor Danika Ellis, question whether for-profit book fairs are the best way to engage kids in books and reading. The fair's "vibe" has become embroiled in a larger sense of cultural degradation, a phenomenon Cory Doctorow refers to as "enshittification," where user experiences degrade as value is extracted, a problem prevalent in Silicon Valley's business models.
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