"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life." This popular Chinese proverb is an apt metaphor for the dilemma faced by principals and curriculum coordinators when deciding whether to purchase a scripted commercial reading program. Although a scripted reading program may solve the immediate problems associated with new, inexperienced, or ineffective teachers, an investment in long-term professional development can empower teachers to make informed decisions about how best to instruct students, which methods and materials to use, and how to know when interventions are needed for individual students. In this article, the author examines the effectiveness of using commercial reading programs and discusses factors that principals should keep in mind when deciding whether to purchase a scripted commercial reading program. The positive and negative impacts of scripted commercial reading materials are presented. A description of a study conducted in Mississippi to determine how teachers view and use scripted commercial programs is also presented. (Contains 2 online resources.)