Book Fair Nostalgia

I apologize in advance for this trip down memory lane, but stay with me here. You could be entertained if nothing else. Something sparked the memory of a nostalgic event that I’m certain does not exist these days. My children are grown and doing life, but they don’t yet have kids in school who I can rely on for information. Perhaps you can enlighten me with your comments.

I was thinking recently about school book fairs. Back in elementary and maybe even middle school, an outside group would come into the building and setup a popup bookstore with books and accessories like erasers, pencils, notebooks, and stickers. A couple of days before the book fair the teacher would send you home with a flier so you could beg and plead with your mom for some money to buy something cool.

Then, classes would take turns perusing the portable shelving units, students looking for the books we agreed upon with our moms. Cash in hand, we’d navigate our way around the room deciding if the most recently released book or the sticker packet that wasn’t in the flier was the better find than what was pre-determined. Occasionally we’d stumble upon a book on sale and were able to pick that up as well as a newly discovered treasure. I can’t remember how often this circus came to town but I feel like it was 2-3 times a year.

As times and technology changed, the large wheeled carts on trucks no longer showed up to take over the library or gymnasium spaces. Instead of taking time out of our school day, we were given a full-color, fancy brochure that mimicked a mini-newspaper and was full of pictures of book covers and summaries of storylines as well as a list of the fun add-on items we could choose from. We’d cut out the order slip, put it in an envelope, and include our cash or check to cover the cost of the new additions to our reading repertoire. Same fun idea, different selection and delivery methods. I feel like there was always at least one book for $0.99 so just about everyone could get something if they wanted to.

I was not in the mindset to consider what went into planning these book fairs back then. I’m pretty sure I wanted to be a ballerina, the president, or the principal oboist in the London Symphony Orchestra at this age. But I got to thinking about what it would take to return to the fun of my youth and plan an old school book fair these days. Could you imagine the logistics and red tape involved with this type of event today? Anyone entering a school on a regular basis and working directly with children must have a background check. I’m certain each school would have different book lists to meet the needs of their unique communities. And schools would have to overcommunicate to the parents and guardians that they could trust that the school had done its due diligence in screening the organization and its workers for the safety of their children.

The book lists could be very different depending on where in the country the fair was traveling. Everyone is used to getting the exact book they want in real-time, so the size of the truck and the variety of options would either be extraordinary or very slim. And electronic payment methods would be a must. Scholastic Books nowadays better be able to accept ApplePay from a nine-year-old if they want to close a deal.

Sadly, these days, most books are digital. Yes, you can still order a paper copy from Amazon, but to save time and weight in a backpack, as often as possible, books are on Kindle or a school’s proprietary online system. I’m certain, if there are not already, there will be kids in our future who will never touch a physical book, just as there is now an entire generation who will never know having a phone conversation without looking at the person their speaking to, waiting a week to see how their photos turned out, or required to be home to watch the show they want.

Do you remember the old school book fairs? What is your fondest memory?
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