Scholastic books ordered through school

[cabanafrau]

I'm with you on not censoring kids. I will admit, we do limit the reading choices of younger children--for example, my younger two read the Harry Potter series quite young, but we stopped them after Book 5. We felt the content of the last two would upset them. We just had them wait a couple years (DS10 is reading book 7 now). And when my oldest (now 21) was in HS, we would have her keep certain books in her room--her younger sister was reading adult books by the age of 4, there were a lot of topics appropriate for a teen that were NOT what you want your 6yo reading! And when we have censored a book, we've always explained why we felt the topic was not appropriate for that child at that time. If they were curious about, say, breast cancer, we might find a book better suited to their age and comprehension.

And I had to crack up on the "adult section" of the book fair. I had never thought of it that way, but you're right. All those scary books about parenting techniques and 30-minute meals--the horror!

I had one daughter who plowed through the Potter series starting in second grade, and then was impatiently tapping her feet for the subsequent books to be released. For her, I honestly didn't feel the need to limit what she was reading. She was born precocious, snarky and pragmatic and unlikely to be bothered by any reading material she was likely to be inclined to drift towards. I focused my attention on trying to attract her attention towards higher quality literature. Her sister felt much less of a pull towards reading overall, showed no interest in things like the Potter series and I was tap dancing as fast as I could to try and cultivate a love of reading at all -- and push her towards books to boost her vocabulary. She finally came to it more on her own terms in high school and regretted bitterly during AP Lit that she hadn't chosen to push herself harder earlier.

I never worried they'd wind up with anything inappropriate from the book fair besides a stuffed animal or some gack creature designed to glow in the dark and "walk" up walls, which is why I had the no books with "extras" rule. Fortunately the concept of prices and budget generally helped a lot with that -- book fairs were great for helping them get their feet wet in those kinds of life skills too.

 

[Magpie]

I had one daughter who plowed through the Potter series starting in second grade, and then was impatiently tapping her feet for the subsequent books to be released. For her, I honestly didn't feel the need to limit what she was reading. She was born precocious, snarky and pragmatic and unlikely to be bothered by any reading material she was likely to be inclined to drift towards. I focused my attention on trying to attract her attention towards higher quality literature. Her sister felt much less of a pull towards reading overall, showed no interest in things like the Potter series and I was tap dancing as fast as I could to try and cultivate a love of reading at all -- and push her towards books to boost her vocabulary. She finally came to it more on her own terms in high school and regretted bitterly during AP Lit that she hadn't chosen to push herself harder earlier.

I never worried they'd wind up with anything inappropriate from the book fair besides a stuffed animal or some gack creature designed to glow in the dark and "walk" up walls, which is why I had the no books with "extras" rule. Fortunately the concept of prices and budget generally helped a lot with that -- book fairs were great for helping them get their feet wet in those kinds of life skills too.

I mostly let my kids self-censor, too, when it came to their books. I well remembered reading flipping through sex scenes to get back to the plot when I was a kid. I thought sex was boring! So I figured they'd also get what they wanted out of the books and anything that wasn't appropriate either wouldn't be of interest or would go over their heads. My daughter loved Watership Down when she was little, but when I asked her about it recently, it turned out she only ever read (and re-read, repeatedly) the first half of the book. To her, it was just an exciting tale about bunnies finding a new home.

The laissez-faire approach though, did lead to the occasional awkward moment. Such as when my eight year old suddenly exclaimed at her grandparent's breakfast table, "Oh, so THAT's what an orgasm is!" She was reading a sci-fi book by Anne McCaffrey, while she ate her cereal.

 

[cabanafrau]

I mostly let my kids self-censor, too, when it came to their books. I well remembered reading flipping through sex scenes to get back to the plot when I was a kid. I thought sex was boring! So I figured they'd also get what they wanted out of the books and anything that wasn't appropriate either wouldn't be of interest or would go over their heads. My daughter loved Watership Down when she was little, but when I asked her about it recently, it turned out she only ever read (and re-read, repeatedly) the first half of the book. To her, it was just an exciting tale about bunnies finding a new home.

The laissez-faire approach though, did lead to the occasional awkward moment. Such as when my eight year old suddenly exclaimed at her grandparent's breakfast table, "Oh, so THAT's what an orgasm is!" She was reading a sci-fi book by Anne McCaffrey, while she ate her cereal.

Ah, but in my book those occasional awkward moments where your kids see or hear something inappropriate or above their paygrade is quite often where you end up having a really cool conversation with your kid and delve into subjects and areas in ways you might not have otherwise. I'd rather have that stuff happen when I'm around to see and hear what they did so I can take the steps I think my kid needs.

I told this story here recently I think, but when my oldest was ten I included the book Wicked in her Easter basket. It's the novel the musical drew inspiration from and is quite a bit darker than the show and has some shall we say risque moments. I had no idea and didn't until I read it some time after my daughter finished. My eyebrows probably were floating on the back of my skull when I realized my blunder. I asked her about it and why she hadn't said a word and she shrugged her shoulders and didn't really seem to think much of it because that wasn't a part of the story that she found so interesting. She's in college now with no criminal record, has held a steady job for four years now, has nice friends and a good social and dating life. It appears she survived my questionable parenting and can function successfully in life independently. If it goes south I have firmly committed to providing a full and truthful confession for their therapists' use.

 

[CarolAnn856]

There is a philosophical difference between book censorship and selection. Censorship is telling others they can't read something simply because you disagree with its message. Selection is choosing whether something is a good fit for you, your child, or your students. As an elementary school librarian, I am conscious of my duty to select, not censor. I am mindful of the age and maturity level of my students, and I make my purchases accordingly.

I've had a couple of students along the way who have told me that their parents don't let them read Harry Potter and similar "magical" stories, and I respect that. I will gladly help those kids find something that they can enjoy within the guidance set forth by their parents. But I would have a huge problem if one of those parents tried to tell me that I shouldn't have those books in my library. That's censorship. Luckily, that's never happened.

ETA As a parent, I didn't hold my kids back from much in the way of reading materials, since I found that they did a great job of self-selecting on their own.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I had one daughter who plowed through the Potter series starting in second grade, and then was impatiently tapping her feet for the subsequent books to be released. For her, I honestly didn't feel the need to limit what she was reading. She was born precocious, snarky and pragmatic and unlikely to be bothered by any reading material she was likely to be inclined to drift towards. I focused my attention on trying to attract her attention towards higher quality literature. Her sister felt much less of a pull towards reading overall, showed no interest in things like the Potter series and I was tap dancing as fast as I could to try and cultivate a love of reading at all -- and push her towards books to boost her vocabulary. She finally came to it more on her own terms in high school and regretted bitterly during AP Lit that she hadn't chosen to push herself harder earlier.

I never worried they'd wind up with anything inappropriate from the book fair besides a stuffed animal or some gack creature designed to glow in the dark and "walk" up walls, which is why I had the no books with "extras" rule. Fortunately the concept of prices and budget generally helped a lot with that -- book fairs were great for helping them get their feet wet in those kinds of life skills too.

I completely understand. In my case, I have sensitive little twerps. I wasn't concerned about violence, I was afraid that the deaths of beloved characters would scar them for life. Even when they were a little older, that was very hard for them. I don't know that a sex scene would hold the attention of DD13 or DS10 at this point in time!

I also agree with the PP--I never stopped my oldest from reading the Twilight series, even though I thought they were drivel. I figure, you can't recognize crappy writing if you're never exposed to it. Guess what--she realized on her own that they were terrible.

 

[Aliceacc]

Over the years, my kids have brought home hundreds of fliers about stuff. I have never ever felt "abused" or compelled to become involved in any of them. I choose the ones I want to be a part of, and say "no, not this time" to my child about the rest. I'm the mom-- I have the power to say no.

They've had their share of Scholastic books, sometimes reading something they would never have thought of picking up simply because of the photo or the description in the flier. And I'm in favor of anything that broadens their horizons.

The paperbacks on Scholastic tend to be very low priced-- I could always allow each of them to get several books for a very reasonable price. Would B&N or Amazon have been $0.70 cheaper? Perhaps. But that flier made it so very easy to get my kids excited about getting a new book that it was well worth the 70 cents. My kids were always pretty good about not wanting the $12 hardcover- there were always plenty of $3 paperbacks from which to choose.

ANY thing that will encourage kids to read is a good thing. I loved that the teacher got points so she could buy more classroom books to offer my kids-- even more options to read. And more options available that perhaps might spark a new interest for one of my kids. Please note that the books the teacher gets to choose from are all kid books-- not the kind of book a teacher would choose for him or herself.

Honestly, it feels like a slow day on the Disboards when this is what we have to complain about.