No More Bratz at Book Fairs

Posted by Susan Carney Sep 22, 2008

I received an email from the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood earlier this month that made me extremely happy. As a result of a relentless letter-writing campaign directed at Scholastic booksellers (yes, THAT Scholastic), the company finally agreed to stop selling Bratz items at their book fairs. You may wonder what a book titled "L'il Bratz Catwalk Cuties" would be doing at an elementary school book fair....as were the over 5,000 CFCC members who took the time to contact Scholastic to express their disappointment. Sadly, most parents were probably unaware that this type of product was being sold at their kids' schools. Which just goes to show that you can't be too careful, and that parents really need to go in and check things out whenever products are being sold to their kids. Even when the product is something so (seemingly!) wholesome and good-for-you as books.....you just never know.

Another recent plus for kids...Kelly Curtis' new book "Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to o Great Things" came out this month. Kelly is a school counselor, like me, and believes wholeheartedly in the Developmental Assets approach, on which the book is based. If you've ever wanted to help kids use their strengths to achieve great things, but weren't quite sure how to do so, you should check out this book. Read my review for more info about "Empowering Youth!"

Safe Schools Week is coming up next month, October 19-25. Stay tuned!