Ah, the sights and smells of the school book fair: crisp books, bright colors, glittering pens, and pencils. It’s enough to give both adults and children a sense of excitement and nostalgia. 

Book fairs have been around as long as most of us can remember–but how did they begin? What is the purpose behind their creation? 

In today’s blog post, St. Cecelia’s Parochial Catholic School explores the interesting history of the book fair. 

A Brief History of The Book Fair in Schools

The most well-known facilitator of school book fairs worldwide is Scholastic. Scholastic was founded in 1920 by Maurice R. Robinson, and by the 1970s, they were a respected publisher of books and entertainment. 

Scholastic began working with the schools by sponsoring book clubs in schools across the country. 

A turning point came in 1981, when Scholastic purchased a regional book fair promoter, California School Book Fair, and began facilitating book-selling events in schools. 

Book fairs are still organized in the same way as they began–the events are sponsored and staffed by parent-teacher associations, and Scholastic delivers the books. At the end of each book fair, volunteers box up unsold books, and Scholastic picks them up. 

Today, Scholastic holds over 120,000 annual book fairs across the United States. 

The Benefits of Book Fairs For School-Aged Children

The purpose of book fairs is to create excitement around reading for kids and allow kids to choose the books that interest them. While school libraries are wonderful, they don’t always contain the newest books and are often focused on more educational material than entertainment. 

Allowing children to choose the books they want to read fosters independence, and hopefully, a lifelong love of reading. 

Book fairs also benefit the host school, with approximately 20-33% of the revenue from book sales going to the school. 

Book Fairs at St. Cecelia’s Catholic School

At St. Cecelia’s Catholic School, students and staff love the book fair! Our mission as a school is to encourage students to read and develop a lifelong love for learning. A book fair is usually held each semester, and your child’s teacher will send information home with dates and instructions on how to let your child participate. 

Join the St. Cecelia’s Family

We would love to talk with you about enrolling your child at our school! St. Cecelia’s Interparochial Catholic School is a Blue Ribbon School located in Clearwater, FL. We offer an academically challenging and globally minded interdisciplinary education to children in PreK-3 through 8th grade. Contact us today for more information!