Books Desegregated: Scholastic Reverses Its Decision to Separate Books Dealing With LGBTQ+, Diversity Issues at School Fairs

Scholastic has reversed its decision to group a set of diverse children’s books into a separate collection at school book fairs.

The about-face comes after an outcry over the book giant’s announcement that it would place books dealing with diversity and LGBTQ+ themes in its “Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice” collection—making it easy for school officials to exclude them.

Scholastic said the initial decision to segregate the books was a response to “enacted or pending legislation in more than 30 U.S. states” that targeted “LGBTQIA+ titles and books that engage with the presence of racism in our country.” The move was widely criticized by educators, authors and bibliophiles—before Scholastic capitulated and sent a letter, signed by Scholastic Trade Publishing president Ellie Berger, to writers and illustrators, apologizing to stakeholders who were “hurt by our action” and noting that the ”Share Every Story” collection would be discontinued starting in January. On Oct. 25, Scholastic posted a press release citing the “unsettling” nature of the “divisive landscape” in the country, and said it would “keep in mind the needs of educators facing local content restrictions.”

Paul Carr, the co-owner of the Best Bookstore in Palm Springs, said Scholastic’s decision to reconsider was the right thing to do.

“When you’re putting books in the hands of children, those books are going to shape their view of the world,” he said. “And every time you deny a child a book, you’re denying them part of the world.”

This was not the first controversy for Scholastic this year. The billion-dollar publishing house faced a similar public outcry when it asked Maggie Tokuda-Hall to remove references to racism from the author’s note in her children’s book Love in the Library. Scholastic quickly walked back the request, issued an apology and reiterated its commitment to share “untold stories, show unseen faces, and amplify unheard voices” as it pledged to work to regain trust.

In a public statement on her website dated May 8, Tokuda-Hall detailed a meeting with Scholastic administrators. She ultimately declined to license her book to Scholastic, saying she was not convinced measures were in place to keep similar requests from happening again.

Scholastic’s fumbles may have encouraged some positive effects. Carr initially responded to Scholastic’s separate collection by posting on social media that his store would do a school book fair “anywhere in SoCal” with staffing, price matches and “ALL BOOKS, not just ones Scholastic published or Ron DeSantis thinks you should have.”

Carr said people have reached out asking for book fairs at their jobs or organizations. “We’ve had so many people—parents and people who work in schools, saying we need more options,” he said. “People are asking, ‘Can you do a book fair for kids, but outside of school?’”

Carr said he welcomes the good that came out of the controversy.

“If it did anything good, it’s been the (chance) to have a good conversation around children’s reading and how books are chosen,” he said. “And for every bookseller and publisher, it’s helpful for them to be reminded of how powerful they are—and what responsibility comes with that power.”