My love of reading started in elementary school, likely fed by the mean kids in my neighborhood who would, at times, drop me like a hot potato and leave me with nothing better to do than read. Thinking about it now, that's probably the best thing that could have happened. I learned to love books, and that passion has never waned. I believe I spent my entire summer between fourth and fifth grade immersed in books, compelling my mother to make countless trips to the library. People didn't buy many books in those days -- at least we didn't. It was all about the library, and that was fine with me. But during the school year, my favorite days were the days the teacher passed out those flimsy Scholastic book catalogs-- and the days when the books finally arrived. I loved to choose books and check the little boxes to order them almost as much as I loved receiving them. I guess I always have been a big fan of anticipation.
But has anyone seen a Scholastic handout recently? You'd be hard-pressed to find a book on it. In fact, the latest one my boys brought home did not have one stand-alone book. Instead you'll find games for the Wii, games for Nintendo DS, games for Leapster, games for your PC, games for GameBoy. It's Scholastic's "Interactive Learning Club." Aah yes, my sons will learn so much playing Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End. Better yet is the next page of the catalog titled "As Seen on TV (and the Movies!)." Now our kids can learn to "problem solve" by playing Drake & Josh or Zoey 101. There's only a handful of books in this catalog and all of those come with CDs or CD-ROMs. I think it's time for "Scholastic" to change its name. Does anyone have a fitting suggestion?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
That is really disappointing. I too loved the newspapery catalogs with all the books on them. My parents let me order from it one or twice and I remember this one box that came to my house that had maybe 4 books in it plus to my extreme pleasure, a free kitten poster. I remember that one of the books was about the Gremlins and one was a Back to the Future book. I guess the books about movies were a foreshadowing of the video game era. Hopefully, they will get back on track. There are so many wonderful books to read for children.
Ugh- I almost wish you hadn't told me that...
Those book orders were the best.
And the kitty poster! Hang in there!
L brought that one home recently, looked at me with wanting eyes, and waited. "Not a chance", was my answer. "Come to me when you bring home the one with books in it."
Poor buddy.
Post a Comment