The colorful shelves we once shopped filled with classics like Clifford the Big Red Dog and The Giving Tree now display sexually explicit content aimed at young kids. You may be thinking that these books just slip through the cracks, but absent-minded oversight is not the case for Scholastic.
“She immersed her body in the warm water and tried not to think about what was between her legs, but there it was, bobbing in front of her.”
from page 44 of the Scholastic book, Melissa, for grades 3-7
The book, Melissa, a book formerly titled George, is a middle-grade novel about transgenderism published by Scholastic and was praised by the former Scholastic CEO as a triumph in Scholastic’s mission to “make the greatest impact by continuing to promote the work of LGBTQIA+ creators in our publishing, including the support and amplification of transgender and non-binary voices. (Media Room)”
Upon a closer examination of Scholastic's catalogs, we realized a recurring pattern of sexualized content:
Gender Confusion—A child’s anger issues might be due to being in the wrong gendered body (Scholastic’s The Pants Project by Cat Clark)
Self-harm—Boys who think they are girls might consider cutting off their penises (Scholastic’s “Lily and Dunkin” by Donna Gephart, “The Other Boy” by M.G. Hennessy, and “The Pants Project” by Cat Clark).
Medical gender transitions—A child who wants to medically transition might use puberty blockers and testosterone injections (Scholastic’s “Welcome to St. Hell” by Lewis Hancox, Scholastic’s “Lily and Dunkin” by Donna Gephart, “The Other Boy” by M.G. Hennessy, and “The Pants Project” by Cat Clark).
Looking up material online and keeping secrets from parents—A child might obtain information on gender transitioning with certain keywords and clear their search history from parents (Scholastic’s “Melissa” by Alex Gino).
LGBTQIA romance scenes—A child who experiences LGBTQIA attraction might kiss, fondle, masturbate, etc (Scholastic’s “Welcome to St. Hell” by Lewis Hancox, “Heartstopper” series by Alice Oseman).
For more content from Scholastic with specific book examples, get our comprehensive report.
