“What better way to introduce simple addition concepts than with delicious Hershey’s Kisses?” reads the description of “Hershey’s Kisses Addition Book” at Amazon.com. (It’s not to be confused with the “Hershey’s Kisses Subtraction Book,” the “Hershey’s Kisses Multiplication and Division Book” or “Hershey’s Fractions.”) Your kid hates Hershey’s? Try the “M&Ms Addition Book,” “Skittles Riddles Math” or the “Twizzlers Percentages Book,” in which space aliens descend on a classroom and, in an unexpected plot twist, demand Twizzlers in exchange for lesson plans. It’s a strategy best summarized by “Reese’s Pieces: Count By Fives”: “Don’t just play with your food,” says the online blurb, “Learn with it!”

For this editorial in the Los Angeles Times about the “educational” marketing of junk food, I question whether it’s really a good idea to use Oreos to teach kids math.