Hi Laura, 

I just usually try to be empathetic to the feelings of the complaintant, and I share the review from School Library Journal to help parents understand why this book is on the fair. 

She is not the first person to take exception to the cover. . .

http://www.nh1.com/news/nh-grandfather-appalled-by-book-cover-with-bombs-forming-swastika-shown-in-school-flier/
Maybe give her the phone # of your Scholastic Rep. or the publisher and encourage her contact them with her assessment.
There was another cover. . .
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12524125-making-bombs-for-hitler
Hope this helps.
School Library Journal (December 1, 2016)
Gr 6-8-This stark novel follows Stolen Child with another story depicting the horrors faced by children in Nazi work camps. Lida is determined to watch out for her little sister, Larissa, but she's rendered unconscious soon after being captured by Nazi soldiers. She awakens to find herself in a dark, filthy railroad car jammed with other Ukrainian children. Lida is one of the "lucky ones" because soldiers have decided she can be of value to them. She is devastated that she has been separated from her younger sister and can only fear the worst. Even though the other children in the railroad car are strangers to one another, they all quickly bond. Once they reach the end of their journey, Lida and her new friends are herded into a labor camp, divided up, and given various tasks. The children come to realize they will be worked until they are too weak to function, then killed. Lida works in a factory making bombs that will be used to kill soldiers who are fighting to end the Nazi reign. With tremendous courage, Lida and her friends begin a sabotage plan, despite the threat of death if they are discovered. Students will admire Lida's pluck amid such heinous conditions. Scenes of the labor camp convey the horrors without graphic description. VERDICT An absorbing read about the lesser-known Ukrainian experience during World War II, this is a solid choice for curricular ties and for middle school historical fiction collections.-Julie Shatterly, W. A. Bess Elementary School, Gastonia, NC © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


Shannon McNeice
Library Media Specialist
West Hartford, CT 06107

On Fri, Mar 3, 2017 at 11:32 AM, <hedenberg@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
Hi! We're having a Scholastic Book Fair in 2 weeks.  Flyers went home and on the last page, under Middle Grades, is a book called Making bombs For Hitler.  The cover has a swastika on it.  I had a student tell me his parent was very upset and felt it was inappropriate for it to be on the flyer and sold at the book fair. Has anyone had this issue, now or in the past, with a book fair item?  I haven't heard from the parent directly but am anticipating a conversation at some point.  We are a K-6 school.

We don't have a library policy in place yet...something I have to work on with the admin and board.  But not sure a book fair item would even be covered any way.

Thanks for any thoughts and suggestions.

Laura

Laura Hedenberg
Library Media Specialist
Barkhamsted School


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