A large cardboard cutout of Freddy Fazbear sits in front of the library doors, inviting or perhaps foreboding all who would enter. Fazbear guards a vibrant and colorful collection of book covers that line the temporary shelves erected in the library lobby. Titles from “Pokémon,” “Marvel,” and the middle school classic, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” distinguish the collection. It’s as if you’ve been taken back in time to a more carefree and happier age.
It’s the library’s book fair.
From Dec. 9-13, the library at Gabrielino High School held a Scholastic Book Fair, offering students and staff an opportunity to buy new books as well as various notebooks and other trinkets.
“It’s a way to bring books to the students so they can have a hands-on experience […] because now there aren’t a lot of bookstores around,” Library Technician Dnana Padilla commented.
San Gabriel elementary schools and at Jefferson Middle School have held numerous book fairs every year, but the Scholastic Book Fair was the first fair held at Gabrielino in over 10 years. Padilla and Gabrielino Librarian Eileen Chi organized the fair.
“Ms. Padilla ran the book fair by herself at Roosevelt, and it did really well, so she said, ‘Hey, why don’t we have it at the high school?’” Chi explained. “I was a little more hesitant, but she said if I did it by myself, surely both of us could do it together.”
The process began with Padilla and Chi contacting a Scholastic official to set up the book fair, beginning their planning in August. While the two had considered other vendors that may have been better suited to high school students, they eventually settled on the traditional Scholastic Book Fair.
Books and supplies arrived the first week of December as administrators helped Padilla and Chi roll multiple large pallets into the library.
Chi and Padilla adopted a “Starbooks” theme for the book fair, stylizing themselves as baristas and making the theme of the fair a coffee shop.
Padilla and Chi held a soft opening for the fair on Dec. 5, allowing students to browse the selection prior to purchasing items and heavily promoted the fair to teachers on Dec. 6, serving coffee and other refreshments.
“They generally sent us middle school and young adult books, but they did send us some picture books,” Padilla noted.
As many student customers observed, much of the fair’s selection targeted a younger audience, something that Padilla and Chi had little control over.
“We’re promoting it as Christmas shopping, right,” Chi said. “For teachers, most of them […] bought all picture books because it’s for their kids, their grandkids, their nieces, and their nephews.”
The fair still had many titles suitable for high school students, with plenty of graphic novels, young adult thrillers, and more complex science books. Even some of the more juvenile books offered neat throwbacks for students. Here were some of the books available:
There were also many posters and other small trinkets available for purchase. From novelty pens and pencils to food-themed erasers to large, obnoxious pointers, they added a more silly element aside from the books.
Over the week, various students drifted into the library during lunch and after school, which was when the book fair was open. The library also enlisted the help of FBLA, ASB, and Key Club members to monitor doors and bags.
“[The fair’s] nice because after middle school, they kind of just stopped, but then this year they brought it to Gab,” junior Ethan Tang mentioned, who was volunteering at the fair.
Overall, students and staff received the book fair well, with many eager to see it return next year. Even in a high school setting, the fair was a surprising blast from the past to their days in elementary and middle school.
“If you remember, maybe when you were in elementary school, how excited you would get to see a book and be able to use your own money,” Padilla added.
