NO FERRIS WHEEL REQUIRED

I am a sucker for a book sale.  I blame my parents; dedicated bookworms from way back.  In his eighth decade, my Dad still cannot resist flicking on his turn signal when he spies the Used Book Sale sign at the Indian Valley Public Library.

With genetics like this at play you can just imagine the great willpower it takes to keep me firmly rooted in my office when the biannual Penn View Book Fair is happening RIGHT ACROSS THE HALL. 

It matters not that my reading level has progressed beyond most of the available books....

Twice each year I can hear the books calling me from their tabletop display. Their tenacious papery voices are relentless.   

Mrs. Thomas manages to make the whole thing look effortless, but much planning and dedication goes into our school’s book fair events.  

Abram working on his wish list

The first sale happens in cooperation with a wonderful local bookstore, Harleysville Books.  Roughly 900 books head home with eager students after each Penn View Book Fair.  

The second fair (scheduled this school year for April 20th through the 24^th) is a wonderful recycling opportunity.  Generous patrons discover once-adored books gathering dust on home bookshelves and generously send them our way for the sale. (Feel free to clean off your shelves and donate too!) At the used book fair, buyers pick up reasonably priced gently-loved books while helping to raise funds so Mrs. Thomas can purchase new books for the school library.  It’s a win-win! 

My grown children no longer need picture books, but apparently that isn't enough good reason to stop me from purchasing at least one large edition each year.  I often give my acquisitions to my baby sister for Christmas.  She may be pushing 50 but she’s young at heart and loves stories as much as I do.

Our students love books too!

Some fairs have games of chance, Tilt-A-Whirl, and sugared elephant ears. 

Other fairs have inviting book piles - providing hundreds of small windows into worlds of mystery, biography, science, and adventure.  Wonderful pages of words can transport the reader to another place and another time.  


I’ll take a book fair over a grimy old nausea-inducing carnival any day of the week. Grab a bookmark and come with me.  No Ferris wheel required.