Tonight I convinced my husband that it would be a great idea for him to take the four older kids to our school’s annual book fair. He was hesitant, but I told him the kids already knew the rule--one book, and it has to be less than $10. So off they went. But when they returned, my husband said, “Next year, its YOUR turn!”
It turns out the book fair really isn’t about BOOKS. It’s all about the stuffed animals and toys they sell *with* the books, like the ones that come with fancy pens with furry heads on them, or that have a pen with dog prints on it since it happens to be with a book about a dog. He said that those were the items the kids wanted, NOT the books. It is sad that in an effort to promote literacy and enjoyment in reading, they promote all the toys just to lure the kids into spending a lot of their parent’s money on toys and do-dads. He said he thinks the ladies running the whole deal probably thought he was the meanest Dad there since he refused to buy the teddy bears.
It turns out the book fair really isn’t about BOOKS. It’s all about the stuffed animals and toys they sell *with* the books, like the ones that come with fancy pens with furry heads on them, or that have a pen with dog prints on it since it happens to be with a book about a dog. He said that those were the items the kids wanted, NOT the books. It is sad that in an effort to promote literacy and enjoyment in reading, they promote all the toys just to lure the kids into spending a lot of their parent’s money on toys and do-dads. He said he thinks the ladies running the whole deal probably thought he was the meanest Dad there since he refused to buy the teddy bears.
So, I think next year we’ll skip the book fair…and hit the public library instead!
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2 comments:
Yes, those drive me crazy, along with the Scholastic book forms the kids bring home. There are sometimes good deals in there, but by and large they want the gimmicky stuff with bracelets and stuffed animals that come with the books. No thanks!
I couldn't agree more!! I thought I was the only mean parent out there who resented "Book" Fairs. At our school, they even send the kids in during school to make a "wish list". Nice. Get their hopes up. I'm all for the library, thank you very much.
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