According to Emma Bowman from NPR, author Maggie Tokuda-Hall was initially excited when Scholastic expressed interest in licensing her 2022 children's book, "Love in the Library." The prospect of reaching a broader audience for her love story set in a World War II incarceration camp for Japanese Americans, inspired by her grandparents and centered around finding joy in a dehumanizing environment, was promising. According to the author, the agreement with Scholastic hinged not only on removing that portion but also on entirely eliminating the word "racism" from the author's note.
However, her excitement waned as soon as she read the suggested revisions to her book, which were included in the same email as the offer. The proposed changes by Scholastic had an immediate dampening effect on her enthusiasm for the opportunity. Enraged by what she viewed as an "appalling request for censorship," Tokuda-Hall firmly declined Scholastic's proposal.
Jacqueline Woodson on Twitter asked her audience if there were other options for book fairs.
Here is what our authors think about Scholastic's recent isolation of diverse titles