|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ditch The Characters For
The Classics
The
Tampa Tribune
September 26, 2008
Scholastic Inc., the purveyor of children's books that
holds a virtual monopoly on elementary school book fairs
and monthly mail-order book sales, has dropped the
hyper-sexualized Bratz dolls from its line of books.
Children's literature lovers are applauding, but
Scholastic didn't go nearly far enough.
It's hard not to notice the influence of popular
television and movies on Scholastic's offerings. While
the company publishes many stellar titles - Harry
Potter, the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder,
and the works of Judy Blume - their regular offerings
smack of Saturday morning television and the mega-mart
toy aisle.
At a recent book fair in Hillsborough County, young
readers could find plenty of books about Sponge Bob,
Barbie, Transformers and Pokemon, but would have been
hard pressed to turn up more than one Caldecott Award
winner.
And the timeless classics of children's literature?
Forget about them.
Bratz books are a spin-off of the highly successful doll
line that features girls in mini-skirts and
fishnet-stockings - feather boas included. The American
Psychological Association singled out the billion-dollar
franchise in its report on the improper sexualization of
young girls.
Last year, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
launched a letter-writing campaign urging Scholastic to
stop promoting Bratz items at schools. Apparently it
worked.
Granted, for kids completely disinterested in reading, a
story featuring their favorite television character
might be just the thing that gets them to pick up a
book.
But a company committed to literacy ought to recognize
that quality counts in the material children read. They
should keep in mind that many families rely on
Scholastic for affordable children's books, and they
don't want a cheap imitation of what literature should
be.
Scholastic would do a new generation of young readers a
tremendous service by making the best of their titles
readily available and minimizing overtly commercial
works.
Even the most artfully written Sponge Bob book will
subtly encourage its young readers to watch the show.
And if they're busy watching, they aren't reading.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
This article is copyrighted material, the use of
which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We
are making such material available in our efforts to advance
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this
constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided
for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17
U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational purposes. For more
information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml If
you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your
own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner |
|
|
|
|
CCFC is a
Program of the
Judge Baker Children's Center
Website Designed & Maintained By:
AfterFive by Design, Inc.
CCFC Logo And Fact Sheets By:
MonicaGraphicDesign.com
Copyright 2004 Commercial Free
Childhood. All rights reserved
|
| |
|
