Pam Dudding
Contributing writer
McCleary Elementary School has an annual Book Fair that has proven to be successful in years past.
This year, a new and exciting event was added.
School librarian Karen Jones shared that they scheduled a morning for grandparents and other members of the family to join their kids on Thursday, March 7, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. for a ‘grand’ event.
“This year’s book fair at McCleary Elementary was a huge success, thanks in part to some ‘grand’ relatives,” Jones said. “Approximately 50 people, including students and family members, turned out early Thursday morning to enjoy coffee and donuts, get their pictures taken and spend time perusing some new and interesting titles.”
Jones said despite this being the first year for the “Grant Event,” “it appeared to be a real crowd-pleaser.” She added, “many in attendance commented about how nice it was to spend time with grandchildren and loved ones while encouraging reading at the same time.”
An anonymous member from the community donated $5 for each child to use at the fair.
Many students were so excited to get the $5 that you would have thought it was $500. Many had a tough time trying to choose from the many choices they had at the book fair.
“Students young and old were delighted with their choices,” Jones noted. “Some of the more popular books selected were Pig the Stinker, The Very Impatient Caterpillar, Owl Diaries, and I Survived the D-Day Invasion. Students were very excited to get their hands on these new books – some even finished reading them the first day.”
The Annual Book Fair is the main fundraiser for the McCleary Library.
Jones said that this year’s profits bought over $2,500 worth of new books which will be added to the library’s collection.
Every year teachers are encouraged to make a wish list of books they would like to have in their classrooms. Parents and visitors then look at the list and decide on which books will get purchased. “We are happy to report that each teacher who created a wish list was able to have at least some of their book wishes granted,” Jones said.
Local children also participate in the All for Books™ program, where they can share the thrill of reading with others by donating loose change. Scholastic Book Fairs® matches those monetary donations with a donation of up to one million dollars in books from The Scholastic Possible Fund. Exactly $21 in change was collected this year.
“I wish to thank everyone in the community who supported this year’s fair, and especially all of the volunteers who made this event possible,” said Jones.
