Current Scholastic Book Fair Is Horrifying Millennials, Examples of Books Spark Debate
Published Sept. 20 2023, 2:06 p.m. ET
We never thought something as pure as the Scholastic Book Fair could be corrupted, but here we are in 2023. After TikToker Chase Lee (@chaseleee) shared a video of what the notable book fair is like now, commenters were understandably furious.
However, others remember that maybe past book fairs weren’t as perfect as we thought. Even still, seeing books about TikTok is actually nauseating. And as a millennial, I won’t stand for it! (OK, there’s nothing I can do about it, but I’m not happy!)
The Scholastic Book Fair now has books about social media and K-Pop.
In Chase Lee’s video, which he captioned, “I’m scared,” he begins with a horrified face and the title, “Just found out what the scholastic book fair looks like now.” And what follows matches the haunted Taylor Swift backing track in which our “wildest dreams” have been ruined.
Chase shows select titles from the book fair, including The Imposter’s Guide to ‘Among Us’ by Kevin Pettman, The Ultimate Guide to TikTok: All Your Favorite TikTok Stars, K-Pop Revolution by Stephan Lee, and an entire 8-book Baby Shark set. Yes, the internet is taking over literature! And we aren't OK with it!
Clearly, neither is Chase. We remember the days of Little House on the Prairie and the Harry Potter series being the most exciting thing at the Scholastic Book Fair. But now, it’s full of internet-themed propaganda that upholds the world’s addiction to social media, gaming, and trending virality. Is that really OK?
Commenters debate that the Scholastic Book Fair always had questionable titles.
While some people are truly horrified at the current Scholastic book fair options, others are quick to point out that the fairs from our childhoods weren’t as “literary” as we might remember. For instance, I remember always buying a Mary Kate and Ashley book — now those weren’t evil social media-inspired books, but they definitely weren't high literature.
A commenter wrote, “Besides the TikTok book, this doesn’t look much different from what we had.” Others remembered buying books about Justin Bieber, Minecraft, Miley Cyrus, Pokémon, and boy bands.
Hilariously, on the other hand, the official Minecraft TikTok account commented, “The fact it’s an unofficial guide to Among Us and our Crewmates look like that is sending me.” Even Among Us doesn’t support this version of the Scholastic Book Fair!
The question then becomes … how far is too far? Scholastic Book Fairs may not have spy gear, mystery books, and LEGO Star Wars sticker books anymore, but they have the updated Generation Alpha version.
And in all fairness, we didn’t get to see everything available at the book fair! Perhaps they also had Magic Treehouse and Babysitter’s Club books — we doubt it, but it’s possible. I guess the scariest part is just how deep social media runs into America’s young people.
When I went to the Scholastic Book Fair, I wasn’t even old enough to have a cell phone, and now, kids are on TikTok! It may not be what we expected, but it’s the reality of 2023.