[CASL-L] book fair

[Cathy Andronik]

This question intrigued me, so I looked the book up, since I've been out of the middle grade world for a while.  Positive reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, PW, and SLJ, with recommended grades of 5 or 6 through 8.  If I remember correctly, the Holocaust is generally part of the grade 5 or 6 curriculum, and students read fiction as well as nonfiction.  Also, as kids learn about that era, they have always devoured novels on the subject.  This one sounds unusual, as it deals with Ukrainian work camps rather than death camps like Auschwitz.  Assuming your school has a selection policy and accompanying request for reconsideration, it's more than likely this book would fit the criteria for purchase.  And if it can be in the library collection, I'd say it can be offered in the book fair.  If the issue is the swastika, I'm assuming other books on Hitler and Nazi Germany have swastikas depicted on their covers.  

I'm wondering what grade the student whose parent complained about the flyer is in.   This may be an opportunity for the parent to talk about the power of historical symbols with his/her child, how the swastika is an ancient symbol that was adopted by one terrible political group and has been hated since.  To see it on a book cover means that there is probably suffering and hardship, courage and survival,  depicted in the story, not that the book is glorifying Naziism.

My district is talking about opening K-8 schools, and this is the sort of question I can see coming up here as well, since the libraries will serve ages 5 through YA.

Cathy Andronik
Teacher Librarian
Brien McMahon HS
Norwalk
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On Fri, 3/3/17, hedenberg at sbcglobal.net <hedenberg at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

 Subject: [CASL-L] book fair
 To: "CASL-L at mylist.net" <CASL-L at mylist.net>
 Date: Friday, March 3, 2017, 11:32 AM
 
 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
 HedenbergLibrary
 Media SpecialistBarkhamsted
 School
 
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