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Congratulations to the Winners of our Spring 2009 National Elementary School Contest! Our first-place winner and recipient of a visit from best-selling author Gordon Korman, plus a $2,000 shopping spree for books is:  Izetta Sparks Elementary SchoolChairperson: Cathy Krejci Frisco, Texas The Lights! Camera! Book Fair! theme set the stage for Sparks Elementary School’s most successful Book Fair ever. A team of more than 80 enthusiastic volunteers with support from the principal and faculty used the Hollywood theme as a springboard to create an event that saw sales increase 30% and put more books than ever into the hands of the school’s students. To create excitement among students, elaborate themed decorations were solicited from families and installed outside the Fair. Volunteers transformed the school into a movie theater V.I.P. entrance complete with ticket booth, red carpet, marquee, giant popcorn box, oversized book covers mounted to the wall like movie posters, and a display case filled with movie concessions and best-selling books. Glamour shots of Book Fair shoppers and their books were taken in a photo op area. And movie soundtracks were played in the background to enhance the mood. Decorations were loaned out to other schools after the Fair. The Fair kicked off with a Teacher Sneak Peek, which featured a drawing for prizes. Teachers were given clapboard shelf-talkers to tag their favorite recommended books. Teachers and the principal donned Hollywood attire and participated in a glamorous costume contest. Donated Classroom Wish List books were wrapped and delivered by a “Book Fairy.” The school advertised to families and the community through multiple channels, including PTA and principal newsletters, school and Scholastic homepages, local media, and e-mail. Special themed bookmarks created by volunteers were sent home with students featuring Fair dates on the reverse side. Special events targeting families attracted many visitors to the Fair. A Family Open House allowed parents to purchase books, fulfill Classroom Wish Lists, and donate to One for Books. On Grandparents’ Day, students had lunch and then shopped the Fair with their grands. The event generated over $7,500 in sales! A butcher paper “Walk of Fame” ran the length of a long hallway and featured handprints of students donating to the One for Books fund. Kids wanted to contribute more so they could keep adding handprints. A classroom challenge resulted in the class with the highest donations winning a popcorn party with the principal. More than $500.00 was raised with the proceeds used to buy books for a nearby Children’s Medical Center. Clifford The Big Red Dog made an appearance at the car pool line and promoted the Fair along with students wearing sandwich boards. Clifford also made a guest appearance at an assembly awarding gift certificates and golden statuettes to contest winners. Glamorously dressed volunteers presented the prizes Academy Award style. Congratulations to Izetta Sparks Elementary students, staff, and parents for making their Book Fair such a great event! Second-place winners of a $1,000 shopping spree for books are: Bloomsburg Memorial Elementary Chairperson: Amelia Blackledge Bloomsburg, PA Students were challenged to read 250,000 minutes in the 30 days leading up to the Book Fair. If they met the challenge, the principal and school superintendent would appear in a sumo-wrestling match. Students demolished the goal and read 342,629 minutes! The sumo match took place the day before the school’s Book Fair Community Day, which served as a wonderful opportunity for community leaders, educators, businesses, volunteers, and parents to raise awareness of the importance of reading. It enabled all students’ access to a great source of reading material and provided the opportunity to read together as a family. A group of fifth grade students served as a Junior Crew and help put on the Fair. Decorations appeared throughout the school from themed décor in the hallways to inspired artwork on classroom doors. Lake Joy Elementary School Chairperson: Lyn Wood Warner Robins, GA To promote Lights! Camera! Book Fair! in the community, volunteers displayed an impressive Wizard of Oz collection and publicized it through local newspapers and e-mail. The display generated much excitement and interest, resulting in increased traffic to the Fair. A five-foot-tall, handcrafted popcorn box was the centerpiece of the reading competition. Students were challenged to read 500,000 minutes in the three weeks leading up to the Book fair. They read 576,702 minutes and celebrated by making the principal into the world’s largest human bag of popcorn, complete with butter! The principal and the top readers in the school arrived at the “Pop our Principal” rally in a police-escorted stretch limo. Farrell-Emmett Elementary School Chairperson: Jane Kavanagh Emmett, MI The school used advertising, contests, challenges, special events, and activities to promote buzz and excitement about the Book Fair. To get in the mood for the movie theme, the principal read booktalks during lunch periods and students did their morning exercises to movie sound tracks. Students participated in a reading challenge to get their name on a Walk of Fame placed at the entrance to the Book Fair. Classes held a contest to see which one could collect the most One for Books donations. The contest raised more than $1,000 to help buy books for the library and classrooms, and the winning class was treated to a Book Fair premier party with V.I.P. passes and pizza. The week ended with a talent show, and the students’ talents dazzled everyone. North Clackamas Christian School Chairperson: Pam Harris Oregon City, OR Promotion for the Fair included outdoor banners and lawn signs, as well as borrowed Hollywood props and movie star cut-outs to complete the theme décor. Volunteers wore top hats, feather boas, and tuxedo aprons to advertise the theme. To promote One for Books, they created a Walk of Fame where students received a star on the Walk for their donations. Top students won popcorn parties. Grandparents Day was a big part of their success, starting with lunch, Book Fair shopping, and classroom time for creating autograph books, a band performance, and a trivia game show. The week capped off with a community movie night for family and friends featuring popcorn, door prizes, and concessions. Third-place winners of a $500 shopping spree for books are: Stourbridge Primary Center Chairperson: Amy Bochnovich Honesdale, PA With a committee of dedicated volunteers including parents, grandparents, high school students, retired teachers, faculty, staff, and students, the PTA organized a wonderful Book Fair week. Students participated in a reading challenge and conducted their very first One for Books collection, donating purchased books to a local group of high school students who mentor elementary school students. The Book Fair wrapped up with a “Night of 1,000 Reading Stars” community reading event. The evening began with dinner and a raffle for donated gift baskets. Stories were read aloud by local celebrities, while the Book Fair remained open the entire evening. The school custodian got into the act by dressing in a tuxedo to direct traffic at the school. Will Rogers Elementary Chairperson: Claudia Mornhinweg Stillwater, OK To generate excitement, Book Club members rehearsed and performed a Lights! Camera! Book Fair! skit at an all-school assembly one week before the Fair. Students dressed as celebrities, wearing bow ties, top hats, and glitter glasses. Decorations for the Fair included giant popcorn boxes, cut-out Oscars, Hollywood stars, and a red carpet with marquee for a photo opportunity. Family Night was a literacy event designed to encourage reading. Each family that participated received a packet of read-aloud tips, and students were given tokens used for prize drawing. Contests included a coloring contest for pre-K through second grade, a poster contest for third through fifth grade, and each classroom was challenged to see which had the most parent participation. Westwood Elementary School Chairperson: Marie Johnson Zimmerman, MN Teachers participated in a unique excitement-building decorating activity. Life-size silhouettes were traced, then dressed in fancy Hollywood premier costumes. It was a big hit with students, who also participated in their own “Dress Like You’re Going to the Emmys” day. The school had several “firsts,” including a Klutz Build-a-Book night with 128 kits sold. Students and parents came after school and created their books while snacking on popcorn and juice. Boys and girls held a One for Books loose change contest to see which group could raise the most. Students crowded the collection containers each day to see who was ahead. A Reading Wall of Fame was created and students who met or exceeded the number of minutes in the challenge had their name placed on a star for the wall. Finally, the school held its first-ever Saturday community event and invited the public to shop. It turned into a very successful day. Taunton Forge Elementary School Chairperson: Joyce Beadle Medford, NJ The week before the Fair, the school was transformed into a Hollywood-themed environment. The front lobby was decorated with Book Fair signs, movie posters, and One for Books slips designed to look like a long filmstrip trailing toward the library. The library entrance was decorated to look like an Academy Awards ceremony complete with Oscars, red carpet, and colored lights. A movie-and-popcorn-night Family Event was held in the school gym. Blankets, pillows, and quilts turned the floor into a soft and cozy movie theater. Many contests were held, including one where students could vote for their favorite book and receive raffle tickets for prizes. North Middletown Elementary School Chairperson: Mary Lovell North Middletown, KY Students at the school participated in the Book Fair in a big way. Many were responsible for the Book Fair decorations, creating stars for award-winning books, hanging pictures of movie stars from the library ceiling, and making posters for the hallways. Many of the handmade posters were also placed in local businesses and on front yards. A red carpet was rolled out and second graders dressed up in very glamorous costumes to stroll down it to the applause of other students. Family Night was a special read-aloud event of a fairy tale mystery written by the librarian. Teachers dressed up as characters from the story and gave clues to students and parents to help them solve the mystery. Other activities that generated excitement for the Fair included a pep rally for students led by fourth and fifth grade cheerleaders, a parade where students and teachers dressed up as storybook characters, and door decorations for each of the classrooms. Skyline Elementary Chairperson: Tammy Matlock Stillwater, OK The Fair began with a publicity campaign inviting the community to support One for Books. Nearly $1,500 was raised before the Fair began and it assisted students in need with a gift of books. Family Night was a big event that include literacy activities, a “Stars in Cars” classic car show, and theater students dressed as Hollywood characters who participated in read alouds and booktalks throughout the night. Students earned chances for prizes if they dressed up as Hollywood star or in a glamorous outfit. St. Michael Catholic School Chairperson: Debra Meidl Prior Lake, MN The real fun began at the school when they started generating excitement with the students. Every classroom got involved with window and door decorating and the school’s main bulletin boards advertised the Fair. Special events attracted incoming kindergartners, who received a Klutz Build-a-Book kit from the PTA. “Grand Guest Stars Day” started off with a breakfast followed by shopping. A “Star Studded Reading Adventure” promoted the Fair to younger students and a “Superstar Shopping Event” was held for older kids. “Family Fun Movie Night” brought out many shoppers, as did a “Sunday Flapjacks with Fans” breakfast. The last day featured a “Wrap Party” for last minute shoppers. Joseph Henry Elementary School Chairperson: Lauralyn Sakala Galway, NY Everyone had fun walking the red carpet at the Joseph Henry Elementary Book Fair. The Family Event was the annual Spring Stroll, which featured school groups and clubs, plus community groups that handed out information about their activities. Students provided entertainment, and the school was completely decorated with student art for the event. Each class picked one book to use as inspiration to decorate its classroom door, and then held a contest to pick the favorite. In the weeks leading up to the Fair, students were challenged to read 100,000 minutes. As a result, their principal dressed up as a cheerleader and entertained the students with a rousing performance worthy of an Oscar.  View and print using Adobe Acrobat Reader® version 4.0 or higher. Get Adobe Acrobat Reader for free. |
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Family Discover the different stages of reading, plus tips for how to choose books with your child at the Book Fair. |
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Librarians Instill a love of reading while raising funds! Learn how a Book Fair benefits your students and your school. |
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Principals Put more books into students' hands while earning essential funding for your school. |
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Teachers Find lesson plans and student activities, prepare a Book Fair Wish List, and build your classroom library. |
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