Jaleh Kemp entered the Scholastic Book Fair with a gleaming smile ready to purchase books. The annual event completed its final day at Chancellor Livingston Elementary School on Feb. 27.
“There are different books every year, so it’s like a big surprise,” said the fourth grader. “I really like the different genres of books they have and I like seeing what other people get.”
Kemp said she was interested in the “Wings of Fire” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series of books.
“They’re very adventurous and they hook the reader in so early on that you want to keep reading the whole book,” she explained.
The Rhinebeck Parent Teacher Student Organization has sponsored the event for more than 20 years at Chancellor Livingston Elementary School. Emily Wiesenthal and Sharagim Kemp are CLS vice presidents for the PTSO and were event organizers with help from many volunteers.
The Scholastic Book Fair also continued another tradition by having an ice cream social for students and their families to visit and purchase merchandise one evening.
This year’s event was scheduled to be five days, but was shortened due to a snow day and two two-hour delays. The weather failed to dampen spirits.
“It’s one of our biggest fundraisers and it’s consistent every year,” said Wiesenthal of the book fair and ice cream social. “It serves two purposes because it gets students excited about reading.”
There were three busy registers with cashiers to assist students purchasing books, and several parents and staff were scattered in the room to help students find and select the merchandise they were seeking.
“We appreciate all the parents who spend time volunteering. We would not be able to do this without them,” said Sharagim Kemp.
There were books available for elementary students of all ages, as well as a table with adult books for parents to purchase on their visit. “Dog Man,” Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” “The Good Egg,” and “Elephant & Piggie” were among the popular series of books. There were books with popular characters such as Hello Kitty, SpongeBob, Harry Potter, Sonic the Hedgehog and Stitch.
For sports fans, books featured past and present sports stars Aaron Judge, Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, LeBron James and Lionel Messi. Stationary items also were for sale.
“We’re always super excited about it because we try to promote as much reading as possible. Any chance we get to do that is a great opportunity,” said Wiesenthal.