susan linn, director of the campaign, says, "The message that children get when books are marketed with other items is that a book in and of itself isn’t enough. And what it does is encourage children to choose books based not on the content but on what they get with it.” (emphasis mine)
judy newman, president of scholastic book clubs counters by saying that "books sold with small items like stickers to help engage children who 'may not be traditional readers.' "
sounds like a good pedagogical brawl is in the works! in one corner: heavy weight james "literacy comes in a variety of forms" gee. in the other: neil "books are always better" postman.
round one: ding ding.
