The education department will host its annual book fair the week after Thanksgiving Break. The fair is a service to the campus, the community and the education students at Ouachita, and will be Tuesday, Nov. 29, to Friday, Dec. 1, in McClellan 100 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Anyone can come browse the selection and purchase books.
The book fair is provided by Scholastic Books, a national company the education department is partnering with.
“We will have a large selection — a lot of books — that go all the way from preschool through juvenile books,” said Carrie Sharp, instructor of education.
Sharp is leading this year’s book fair and has a three-fold purpose for the fair. First, the book fair is a service to the students, faculty and staff; it allows them to buy books at a reasonable price on campus. Sharp said the books are “great Christmas presents” both for students’ siblings and parents as well as for faculty and staff members’ children and grandchildren.
Second, the book fair is a service to the community. Scholastic Books travels around the country providing book fairs at elementary schools. However, home schooled children typically do not get the chance to participate. In response, Sharp and the education department invited local these kids to the book fair.
Third, the book fair is a service to the education students at Ouachita. Early childhood education majors are already gaining experience and going into local elementary schools to teach children, but access to children’s literature is limited. The department receives a percentage of the sales in “Scholastic Bucks,” money that can be used to buy from Scholastic Books. This reward is distributed to the education department and students for them to purchase children’s literature.
The books at the book fair will primarily be children’s literature. The fair will also have recipes and cookbooks. Other books included may bring back nostalgic memories for students. These titles include “The Adventures of Frog and Toad” and “Captain Underpants.”
Instead of Scholastic Books employees working the book fair, Ouachita students and faculty will. Education majors who work the book fair will receive a percentage of sales. Education faculty and several local residents connected with the department have also volunteered and will help. Other helpers will include members of Kappa Delta Psi, the education’s honor society.
“I encourage everyone to come to the book fair, even if you have no interest in buying children’s books,” said Catie Bennett, a senior early childhood education major. “It is always interesting to see current children’s books and how much they have changed since we were in elementary school.”
The week of the fair, Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, Clifford the Big Red Dog will be traveling throughout campus to encourage student participation.
“Don’t be surprised if you see him running around campus,” Sharp said.
For more information or any questions, please contact Carrie Sharp at sharpc@obu.edu.
Picture courtesy of http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=592&picture=book.
