The Rachel Carson Middle School library was filled with new books from Dec. 2 to Dec. 6 as students attended the annual Book Fair, a collaborative effort with a bookstore called Bookworm Central in Manassas, VA.
Eli Cheung-Nguyen, 12, a member of the Dream Team, shared his excitement.
“I was excited because I have not been to a book fair in a while,” he said.
Eli said that he found the atmosphere of the fair very enjoyable.
“I kind of liked the vibe; it seemed very pleasant,” Eli said.
Yug Mehta, 13, a seventh-grader, part of the Dream Team, said that he liked the book fair because he enjoys reading.
“I felt happy because I like books, and I like reading,” Yug said.
The librarians were also happy with the turnout. Mrs. Elizabeth Donovan, a librarian at RCMS, expressed her delight in seeing the students’ engagement. Ms. Donovan also liked how joyful the students were when they discovered new books.
“I like seeing the enthusiasm from the kids,” Mrs. Donovan said.
Ms. Ellen Bickford, another RCMS librarian, appreciated the insights that the book fair provided into students’ interests.
“I always like to see which books are the most popular,” Ms. Bickford said.
This year, the best-sellers included the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series, with “Hot Mess: Diary of a Wimpy Kid” being sold the most at the book fair.
“Books written by Jennifer A. Nielsen were also very popular at the fair,” Ms. Bickford said.
The partnership with Bookworm Central, is one of the companies that the librarians use to supply the book fair. They use others like Scholastic. Ms. Bickford appreciates the quality that comes with working with a local business.
“I like it because it’s a small, locally owned company. Instead of listening to an automated message, I get to talk to an actual person,” Ms. Bickford stated.
Similarly, Ms. Donovan really likes the access to various publishers that Bookworm Central can get.
“I really like working with Bookworm Central, they can get books from different publishers,” Ms. Donovan said.
Mrs. Donovan also said that Bookworm Central had more book choices since it was a smaller company. Unlike Scholastic, which can’t get books from other publishers.
“It [Bookworm Central] can buy books from any publisher,” she said.
