The Little Eagles Love to Read

In Fair Grove Elementary, September 8th through the 16th is the annual book fair. It occurs during Grandparents Day and allows students to be excited about reading and books at a young age. 

Julie Hampton is the librarian for the elementary, along with Teresa Hartman, who is the library aide. Hampton exclaimed, “Students are so excited when they come to the book fair.  We literally have kiddos peering in the windows once we have it set up.  There is always so much excitement for them to get to look at new books and hope to be able to buy the books they want.” 

Hampton also explained how they reach students and their parents to communicate the book fair throughout the community, through posters, emails, social media, and talks with students during library time. She also explained how important it is to foster the joy of reading to students at an early age, to let kids know that reading is fun and can be an amazing experience for them as they grow up. Hampton elaborated, “It gets kids excited about books. One of our goals in the library is to create a love for reading and the book fair helps foster that love.”

The book fair builds anticipation for students to buy, and read new books. It allows kids to be excited about something healthy for them, and something that will benefit them later on academically. It takes a special kind of person to foster this love of books in students. Hartman, the library aide, explained, “Ms. Hampton is an amazing teacher and has a God-given gift for teaching her students. I have the honor of working under her teaching and supervision.” 

Hampton also said, “Pig the Pug is a very popular series for our younger students. Anything with animals (dinosaurs, sharks, dogs, cats, etc.) our kiddos really love.”  Pig the Pug is a book about a pug who is originally greedy but learns how to share and learn from it. 

Hampton then continued to explain her job passionately, “I love everything about my job (it is the best position to have in education)!  I really enjoy getting to have the kiddos year after year (some for 7 years if they attend pre-k here); it allows me to see them grow and really form strong relationships with them.  I also love books, so getting to read books out loud and help students learn to love books is one of the best parts of my job.” 

The book fair is often overlooked in our school activities, but fostering a love for books with students at a young age allows our future eagles to grow, and improve academically one book at a time.