Tipsheet

Book Publisher Encourages Teachers to Provide LGBTQ+ Books for Kids As Young As Preschool

Book publisher Scholastic has published a “Pride” guide encouraging educators “disrupt the status quo” to indoctrinate students with pro-LGBTQ+ ideology. 

According to several reports, the company recently released its 2023 guide for its annual “Read With Pride” initiative. This year, the guide tells teachers and advocates that “whether or not they are out to themselves or you, you absolutely know queer children and interact with them in your classrooms, libraries, and communities.”

In addition, the guide claims that “being cisgender, heterosexual, and allosexual are the default” and that they are “showing children an expanded way of thinking” by providing them with reading materials that are pro-LGBTQ+. This includes children who are preschool age (via The Daily Wire):

For “the youngest reader,” Scholastic recommends several books, including “My Moms Love Me” about a lesbian couple with a baby, and “You Are Loved,” a book in which “readers will meet families with two moms and two dads,” according to the description.

Scholastic recommends dozens of books for older children ages eight to 12, including three by the same author, Alex Gino. “Melissa” is about a trans-identifying boy, and the other two books are about non-binary characters.

The guide pushed back on efforts to remove inappropriate pro-LGBTQ+ books from school libraries 

“Unfortunately, many communities are experiencing significant pushback to supporting the rights and needs of queer youth and the inclusion of queer literature in classrooms and libraries,” the guide states. “If you or anyone you know needs them, make sure to utilize the links to mental health and censorship hotlines included in this guide.”

Many Republican states have school boards that have implemented policies to protect kids from this kind of LGBTQ+ indoctrination in schools. And, earlier this year, a school board in Maryland, a Democratic state, voted to implement a policy that will restrict students’ access to sexually explicit books at school.