Brookdale School hosts a Scholastic Book Fair

By Daniel Jackovino, Staff Writer
A book fair was held at Brookdale School last week. Sponsored by the school’s Home and School Association, it occupied the first-floor Media Center and required the librarian to travel from class to class, according to one mother helping with the sale.
Scheduled and run by parents, the weeklong event was a stop for Scholastic Book Fairs which take place throughout the country. According to Marcia Adirim, of Brookdale’s Home and School and the fair’s chairwoman, the fair is the first one taking place among the district’s elementary schools.
The books being offered are selected by Scholastic, Adirim said.
“But if I see a title I want, I request it,” she added.
Two requested titles included “War Horse” and “Eragon.” Adirim noted both are also movies.
But Hollywood was not the only influence on a young reader’s selections. Polly Shulman’s “The Grimm Legacy” was popular with the school’s fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders, Adirim pointed out, and was highlighted in a pre-fair Scholastic video that pupils viewed. According to the author’s website, the book is about a lonely young girl who takes a job in a New York library with a secret room where items with magical powers from the Grimm Brother’s tales are locked.
Most of the book prices were from $1.99 to $8, although one was said to be priced at $40.
“No one bought it,” said Adirim.
But the fair, with a profusion of titles, offered all school grades something to read. To help guide the young shoppers, book cases were color-coded for reading levels and, literally, site-specific.
“School of fear - read for courage” announced the billboard attachment of one book case. Others included “Dark diaries - read to understand” and “The world’s strangest animals - read to explore.” And of course, the masked and helmeted personages from the long-lived “Star Wars” institution were spread over a table.
But on no cover would a pupil find Tom Sawyer white-washing that fence he’s been painting for well over a century, or “Little Women” clustered in a Victorian parlor or the sands of “Treasure Island.” This was apparently because today’s children, while they may read the classics, don’t necessarily shop for them.
“Children buy things which are interesting to them,” Adirim said succinctly.
But a quick survey of the book covers did not reveal any of the visages or acrobatics of famous sports figures either. But again Adirim pointed out sports titles were available at the fair.
“We try to reach all our readers,” she added with assurance.
After having been given the opportunity to browse the fair, Adirim said students compiled a wish-list for parental consideration before making their purchases.
Once the fair is over and the receipts tallied up, the fair’s profits can be handled in one of two ways.
If a Home and School chooses a monetary compensation from Scholastic, they will receive 20 percent of the profits. The alternative is to choose merchandise from a Scholastic catalogue and receive 50 percent of the profits in exchange for school-related products. This is what Brookdale’s association would do this year and has done in the recent past. Adirim, whose son, Ethan, is in the fifth-grade, has been involved with the fair for the last seven years and its chairwoman for the last three. During that time her Home and School has purchased a Smart Board and “clickers” — a high-tech accessory that allows pupils to interact with the board.
“It’s only been a few years that Scholastic has had this merchandise for sale,” Adirim said.
Teachers also provide the Home and School with a wish-list of books they would like for their classrooms. Parents then have the opportunity to purchase a gift certificate for a particular teacher which pays for some of these preferences. Students also are encouraged to act charitably and may deposit a contribution to a Scholastic-provided container. This money will go to help fulfill a teacher’s wish list or maybe buy a book for a fellow student who may not be able to purchase it themselves.
“We don’t make that decision,” Adirim said regarding the purchases for individual students. “We rely on the teachers to tell us.”
But the money in this collection, which parents can add to, is also matched by Scholastic on a one book for every dollar basis. The books go to several national non-profits for needy children throughout the country, according to Adirim. She said Demarest School would be having its Scholastic Book Fair this week.