The Scholastic Book Fair held this month at my daughter’s elementary created a fun bookstore environment that promoted reading and learning — all while raising thousands of dollars for the school. So why did it leave me fuming? Because my kindergartner purchased, from among the hundreds of discounted books available at the fair, a piece of drivel titled [Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale](http://www.amazon.com/Barbie-Fashion-Fairytale-Pictureback/dp/0375860304/ref=sr11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290201618&sr=1-1).

In this vapid book (which the cover proudly proclaims is “Based On The Movie!”), Barbie’s Aunt Millicent is being forced to close her Paris fashion house because evil competitors have stolen her designs. Three tiny, anorexic “Flairies” known as Glimmer, Shimmer and Shyne magically appear to help tart up Millicent’s fashions, but they are kidnapped and forced to work for the thieving competition. Mayhem ensues, but all is saved by the time Barbie walks the runway and wows the crowd.

I don’t blame Barbie. She’s a busy single woman juggling several careers (neurosurgeon one day, rock star the next), and anyway those slutty Bratz dolls are far worse. I can’t sniff in disgust that Barbie’s hair, makeup, and body represent unattainable standards. Some Manhattan women attain those standards every day. And I can’t (or won’t) blame a 4-year-old for her sketchy taste in literature. My wife and I shield our daughter from mindless fluff, so it was perhaps inevitable that this sparkling piece of forbidden pink bubblegum would prove tempting.<!--more-->

But I can blame the Scholastic Book Fair for including Fashion Fairytale among its otherwise worthwhile offerings. Books tied to alluring corporate characters no doubt sell briskly, but a book fair for young children should not lower its standards so it can collect more cash, even when a public school shares the profits. There is nothing – nothing! – in this awful Barbie book that merits a spot in a school book sale.

And I also blame myself. The words “Scholastic Book Fair” and the school’s wholehearted promotion of the event made me drop my guard. I thought I could send my daughter to school with ten bucks and feel confident she would bring home something by E.B. White or Mo Willems. Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale was a glittering reminder that school walls don’t keep out the world’s unhealthy temptations.

Next year, I’ll still give my daughter ten bucks for the book fair, but she and I will sit down with the Scholastic catalog and discuss appropriate choices. Looks like Barbie just took on another career: literary vigilance instigator. I'll wager she wears pink at the office.