Fall Book Fair 2017: Roping In Young Readers

Book Fair Fall 2017Yee Haw! It’s my favorite time of year again—BOOK FAIR! This year’s theme for the Fall Book Fair is the Wild West. So here we are trying to rope in young readers.

The kids love the Book Fair. Even the older kids who pretend they are too cool to care will sneak their peeks and then come back later to buy books. The little kids are the best, though. They stare in awe at the shelves of books that must seem as tall as skyscrapers to them. Some kids will run around like crazy, grabbing armfuls of books to put on their wish lists. Others reverently and silently move from shelf to shelf, gently taking down one book at a time to add to their lists.

We had a good selection this year, with a lot of diversity in the titles. Something for everyone, really, from fantasy to gemstones. I worked mainly with the younger kids, and there’s always one title that catches fire. This year’s hot title was Thelma the Unicorn.

Book Fair Fall 2017Book Fair Fall 2017

 

 

 

 

Our fantastic volunteers make this possible, and we had a large bunch of dedicated parents this year. We helped the younger kids write wish lists, and then when they came back a few days later with money, we helped them buy their books. The little kids don’t fully understand the value of a dollar, so trying to explain why you can’t buy a $10 book with a $1 bill even though they both start with the number 1 can be hard. But our volunteers are great and all the kids went home happy.

As I say every time I write about the Book Fair, the proceeds from this constitute ALL of the budget for buying books and supplies for the library. Our school pays nothing toward curating the collection. So having success at the Book Fair is vital to our school. This may be the case at your school, too, so please support your Book Fair even if you can only afford one book.

Book Fair Fall 2017Book Fair Fall 2017But the Book Fair is not all about us. Last year we collected donations for a school in Louisiana that had lost their library in the Mississippi River floods, and this year we are collecting for a school in Houston, Texas. We turn it into a competition, with each grade getting a jar to put their money in. Much to our surprise last year, the older grades got very competitive last year, with the 5th grade coming out on top. Their prize? Our Principal sat in a dunk tank at the local fair and let the kids dunk him. He was an awesome sport, since he was sick and it was a chilly day. This year, whichever class wins gets to duct tape the Vice Principal to a wall. I wonder if the now-sixth graders will cough up enough dough to win 2 years in a row?

This Fall Book Fair was a success on many levels, but mostly because we roped in some young readers. Seeing their eyes light up as they hug their books is the biggest triumph of all.

Book Fair Fall 2017

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