"Oh The Places You'll Go..."

Searching for clues around the world, a small cabin out on a big prairie, a skinny little stick figure kid and his private thoughts, a bear and his missing button, a certain mischievious monkey and the man with the yellow hat. Following the adventures of a mouse on a motorcycle and also the misadventures of two catholic brothers living in mormon populated Utah in the late 19th century.

Just a few of the tales that could be found at our school's book fair this week.

I love books. I don't own a Nook or a Kindle. I have no intentions of wanting or buying one anytime soon. I have an e-reader on my phone with 2 books on it, but I haven't yet read them. I like to hold a book. Turn the pages. And yes, I'm one of THOSE people who actually turn down the corner of the page to mark where I left off reading. I will also write {gasp!} in books...marking things that speak to me.

I'm always looking for books. Specific ones that I can't wait to get my hands on, old ones that I pick up at used book sales (best bargains EVER!), new and not-yet-released to the public are always a little fun and make me feel super-priviledged, and then there's the ones that I've owned for years. I still have a book I purchased at my own school book fair when I was but a young reader. I also have a book that is no longer in print that I pull out every Christmas season and read.

Twice a year at my monkey children's school we hold a bookfair for the kids. Some schools do so to make a profit for the school. Some do it through a program to purchase school supplies for the classrooms. We do it, for the simple reason that we want to put books in the hands of these amazing little people and get them reading. And once they start reading, their adventures will truly begin!

This week's book fair ended tonight, and I'm confident it was a success. I don't say that because of the bottom line of dollars worth of books sold, or quantities. I say that because I watched the kids come in...many of them multiple times over the course of the last 2 days. They were excited to browse, more excited to purchase, and according to our teachers...these kids couldn't wait to start reading!!

And that's what it's all about.