Four decades ago, I began my elementary school journey. I don’t remember many things about those years, but a few fond memories stand out. Every spring we tried out our skills at the 40-yard dash and tug of war during Field Day. We spent the last day of each term watching a movie like Old Yeller or Where the Red Fern Grows. The high point in the cafeteria each week was the square pizza slices and corn nibblets served every Friday. And every year, we hosted the Scholastic Book Fair.
I was a bookish kid, so I especially loved the book fair. The Scholastic catalog would be passed out a few weeks in advance, so that we knew which books would be available. I would circle all the books I wanted, then negotiate with my parents about how many they were willing to buy. Our family didn’t have much money in those years, but Mom and Dad made sure I always left the book fair with a bag full of books. My own kids have grown up reading many of the same books that I first purchased from Scholastic in the 1980s.
In recent weeks, the Scholastic Book Fair has become embroiled in controversy. In response to the growing number of states that have passed laws restricting the influence of critical race theory and intersectionality in public schools, Scholastic separated out several dozen of its titles that address matters of race, gender, and sexuality. Those titles, which school boards could choose whether to include in their book fairs or not, were part of a separate catalog called “Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice.”
Click Here to Read More (Originally Published at World Magazine)
Nathan A. Finn is professor of faith and culture and executive director of the Institute for Transformational Leadership at North Greenville University. He is also the Recording Secretary of the Southern Baptist Convention.
