Book fairs run by publisher Scholastic are a staple at schools across the U.S., with the pop-up sales events allowing students to shop for new titles without leaving school property. But now, the company is being accused of creating what some are calling a 'bigotry button' that allows school districts to exclude books from the fairs that touch on race, LGBTQ and other issues related to diversity.
But most of the titles are related to popular characters like Spiderman or games such as Minecraft. Creating an opt-out group of diverse book fair titles comes as Scholastic is under fire from some conservatives for its book selection. One group, Brave Books, is urging parents and schools to 'cancel Scholastic,' claiming that the book fairs sell titles that 'appear harmless' but include 'ideas like gender fluidity and the LGBTQIA+ agenda on the inside.