Between 23rd and 27th September, the library held a book fair. This was the first fair for a number of years, but the thirteenth we have had since our first one way back in 1997.

A book fair can be a good way to promote reading for pleasure, encouraging pupil choice from a selection of teen / young adult fiction (some non-fiction too). It can also be beneficial to promoting the library, maybe drawing in pupils and staff who maybe otherwise wouldn’t visit, as well as, if commission threshold met, gaining new stock for the school library. This time we did meet the threshold of £300, which is actually a lot for a school with a small roll like ours. Pupils were given free rein to select books for the library up to a value of around £80 and we now have a nice selection of 11 new books to add to library stock in due course.

A book fair can also support Reading outcomes and benchmarks in literacy, in particular:

Enjoyment and choice – within a motivating and challenging environment developing an awareness of the relevance of texts in my life

I regularly select and read, listen to or watch texts for enjoyment and interest, and I can express how well they meet my needs and expectations and give reasons, with evidence, for my personal response. I can identify sources to develop the range of my reading.LIT 3-11a

Selects texts regularly for enjoyment and interest or relevant sources to inform thinking. Gives a personal response to texts with appropriate justification. Explains how well a text or source meets needs and expectations with appropriate justification.