Good sense or censorship?

Scholastic book fairs are a staple part of many school, supported by parents, teachers and librarians. Recently controversy has arisen over Scholastic's ads for materials based on the Bratz fashion dolls. Some adults argue that these sexualized dolls and books about them are not suitable for middle school children and Scholastic has now agreed to drop references to them in its new book fair materials. Whether this was done because of the complaints or because of dropping sales in the Bratz branded products is not clear. Like most skirmishes in the battle to provide children with the best and most suitable materials while at the same time letting them choose what they prefer, the victory is ambiguous. Commercial publishers and producers of materials for children must seek a profit, so they will continue pushing borderline items that stretch the boundaries of acceptable. And librarians will continue to buy what their patrons want, but remain vigilant to reject materials that would harm children. The battle will never be completely won or completely lost, but it is still worth fighting.