Page 2 - Fall 2017 Middle School Guidebook

ADear Book Fair Chairperson,
s a classroom teacher and parent, I know that the Book Fair creates excitement. Kids love selecting their own books and discussing them with their friends. The power of choice comes alive!
We want kids to live in a world filled with books, flooding their classrooms, school libraries, and homes. Kids who have mean- ingful access to engaging books find success at higher levels and enjoy reading more. By hosting a Scholastic Book Fair, you improve kids’ access to high-quality, affordable books. The Book Fair also supports the reading culture you are trying to build with your students all year. The ability to own a few books they have self-selected has a positive influence on your students’ reading identities and confidence and gets them excited about reading.
Throughout this Ideas Guidebook, there are scores of ideas to not only get your students and school community excited about the Book Fair, but ideas that keep them excited about reading!
Plan a Book Fair Preview (pages 14-15) with your students and faculty, and encourage teachers to complete their Classroom Wish Lists (page 16). Teachers who are excited about the Book Fair increase kids’ interest in it, too, and generate excitement around specific books. Meanwhile, building a classroom library improves the quality and quantity of books students have at their
fingertips. And, by launching an All for BooksTM campaign (pages 18-19) as part of your Book Fair, you can ensure that all kids have the opportunity to own their own books.
Thank you for everything you do to put books in the hands of kids. It takes hard work and commitment, but I cannot think of anything more lasting or important than passing the gift of reading to children. You are changing lives one book at a time.
Have a wonderful Book Fair,
Donalyn Miller
P.S. For weekly synopses of great current titles featured on the Book Fair, check out my web video series The Book Fair Whis- perer: Back to Books by visiting: http://bit.ly/donalynwebshow.
Introducing the fall 2017 theme
WILD WILD WEST BOOK FAIR:
READERS WANTED!