Ditch The Characters For The Classics

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.