Another field trip! We went to the East Middle School library. First we had a chance to look around a bit. The library is divided into a couple sections. One section has tables for individual students or groups of students to sit at. Another section is a bank of computers that could seat a class. The last section is enough tables to seat a class. Around most of the perimeter of the library are bookshelves - fiction toward the front, and nonfiction towards the back. As we wandered the collection, it appeared that much of the nonfiction was old. However, the fiction was nice and new, and even had some books that I've been wanting to read.
We spent a lot of class talking about book fairs. When I was young, the book fair was the best thing in the world. My parents would actually give me money to buy a book. It was so hard to choose just one. But the process of choosing was so much fun. Many librarians have bad experiences with book fairs, but the trouble is worth it for children who get excited about reading and choosing that one book to take home.
I always come away from Rachel's library with a new list of want-to-reads!
ReplyDeleteI agree - Rachel has really got me pumped with the idea that book fairs can be more accessible to students and sponsored by local sellers. I love the idea that everyone wins in that situation.
ReplyDeleteRachel's involvement is so amazing! I know that book fairs can be a pain, but it's only a week or so out of your year (excluding all the planning, which is a whole other beast). I agree Natalie, it's worth the trouble. I know there are concerns about equity, but we do what we can with what we have, right?
ReplyDeleteI remember looking forward to book fairs for months. Also, they were generally held during my birthday month, so I was always guaranteed something. I still have my copies of the BabySitter's Club books that I bought in 6th grade. I saved for months and then joined the club where they send you a new one every month. I think that we need to be careful not to get sucked into the marketing, but also realize that sometimes this is the only time kids will get to buy a new book.
ReplyDeletethe local book fair was such an exciting idea and i hope that the practice really takes off.
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