Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood

Tell Scholastic: Put the Book Back in Book Clubs

For many of us, Scholastic's in-school book clubs -- the monthly flyers distributed in classrooms -- played an important role in our childhood by providing the opportunity to purchase low-cost, high-quality literature.

But something has changed. Scholastic's book clubs have become a Trojan horse for marketing toys, trinkets, and electronic media—many of which promote popular brands. A review by CCFC of Scholastic's elementary and middle school book clubs found that one-third of the items for sale are either not books or are books packaged with other items such as jewelry and toys. Items sold by Scholastic in 2008 included the M&M's Kart Racing Wii videogame, the Princess Room Alarm, Monopoly® SpongeBob SquarePants™ Edition computer game, lip gloss and a Hannah Montana bracelet.

Please take a moment to tell Scholastic it’s time to return to selling books – and only books – through their in-school book clubs.

Your message will be sent to Richard Robinson, CEO of Scholastic, and Judy Newman, President of Scholastic Book Clubs.

*Personal emails have an even greater impact. If you chose to edit the email below, please change the subject line to make your changes more noticable.

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February 10, 2010

Subject:

Dear Mr. Robinson and Ms. Newman, I am writing to urge you stop selling toys, trinkets, and electronic media in your book clubs. The opportunity to sell directly to children in schools is a privilege, not a right. Schools grant Scholastic unique commercial access to children because of its reputation as an educational publisher. But Scholastic is abusing that privilege by flooding classrooms across the country with ads for products and brands that have little educational value and compete with books for children's attention and families' limited resources. There's no justification for marketing an M&M videogame or lip gloss in elementary schools. Please return to selling books - and only books - through your in-school book clubs. Sincerely,
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