If you've never hosted a school book fair before, the idea of planning your first one can feel a little overwhelming. Where do you start? How do you get teachers involved? How many volunteers do you need? How do you get families excited? And, most importantly, how do you make it a fun experience for your students?
We've been hosting Literati Book Fairs at our library in Van Meter for the last several years, and I've learned that a book fair is so much more than a room full of books. It is an opportunity to celebrate reading, introduce students to new authors and genres, involve families and our community, support teachers and their classroom libraries, and put books directly into the hands of children.
If this is your first Literati Book Fair, don't worry! You don't have to know everything on day one. With a little planning, a great team, and a few ideas to get you started, you can create a wonderful experience for your school community.
1. Start With Your Goal
Before you start planning displays, creating flyers, or recruiting volunteers, take a little time to think about what you want your book fair to accomplish.
Of course, earning rewards and raising money can be an important part of a school book fair. But I always like to start with a bigger question: What do I want this book fair to do for my students?
Maybe your goal is to put more books into students' hands. Maybe you want to add new titles to your school library or classroom libraries. Perhaps you want to bring families into the school for a special reading event or create more excitement around reading.
It might be all of these things!
Knowing your goals from the beginning will help you make decisions throughout the planning process. It will also help you share the purpose of your book fair with teachers, families, administrators, and volunteers.
For me, the most important goal is always creating opportunities for students to discover books they are excited to read. When a student finds a book they can't wait to take home, that's a win!
2. Get the Word Out: Marketing Your Book Fair
Once you have your dates and goals in place, it's time to start spreading the word!
One of the best things you can do for your first book fair is to create a simple communication plan. You don't need to make it complicated, but you do want families, teachers, and students to know when the fair is happening and how they can participate.
Start sharing information early. Include the dates, shopping hours, family events, payment information, and details about online shopping. Then, find ways to remind your school community as the fair gets closer.
Here are a few ideas to get started:
- School newsletters: Include book fair dates and important information in your regular school communications.
- Social media: Share reminders, sneak peeks, book photos, and excitement as the fair approaches.
- Posters and signs: Place these around the school so students and teachers see them throughout the day. Read all about the pop-up signs I made for our upcoming Literati Book Fair here.
- Morning announcements: Build excitement by counting down to the fair or sharing fun book-related messages.
- Teacher communication: Ask teachers to remind families about the fair and share information about their classroom wish lists.
- Family reminders: Send a quick reminder before the fair opens and again during the week.
I also love sharing pictures of the books and displays when they arrive. A little preview can help students start thinking about what they might want to discover.
Remember, you don't have to do everything on every platform. Choose the communication methods that work best for your school and use them consistently. The goal is to make sure everyone knows the book fair is coming and has the information they need to participate.
3. Get Your Teachers Involved...Work With Teachers to Create Their Wish Lists
Your teachers can be some of your best book fair partners! They know their students, understand the books that support classroom learning, and often have great ideas about what their classroom libraries need.
Before the fair begins, invite teachers to preview the books and create wish lists. These lists can help families discover books that would be meaningful additions to classrooms while giving teachers an opportunity to share the titles they love.
At Van Meter, we've used Teacher Wishlist Trail Maps to make the process easier for families. By using QR codes, families can quickly access teacher wish lists while shopping at the fair.
I love this idea because it creates another connection between the book fair, teachers, and families. A family might come to purchase a book for their child and discover an opportunity to contribute a book to the classroom, too.
There are other ways to get teachers involved as well. Ask them to talk about their favorite books, share recommendations with students, encourage students to explore different genres, and help build excitement before the fair opens.
Teachers can also help students think about the kinds of books they enjoy reading and what they might like to try next.
When teachers are talking about books, students notice. Their excitement can help students feel more confident about exploring something new.
4. Build Your Volunteer Team
A book fair takes a team, and you don't have to do everything yourself!
Before the fair begins, think about the areas where you might need an extra set of hands. Even a small group of volunteers can make a big difference in helping everything run smoothly.
Depending on your school's needs, volunteers might help with:
- Setting up the fair and organizing displays
- Welcoming students and families
- Helping students find books
- Answering questions during shopping times
- Assisting with checkout
- Restocking books and keeping displays organized
- Supporting family shopping events
- Packing up at the end of the fair
My biggest advice is to ask for help early. Share the dates and available volunteer times with families, staff, and your school community. Make it easy for people to sign up for a time that works for them.
It can also help to give volunteers a little information before their shifts begin. Let them know where to go, what they will be doing, and who they can ask if they need help.
And don't forget to thank them! Book fair volunteers help create the experience for students, and their time and energy are worth celebrating.
5. Make It Easy for Families and Friends to Participate
Not every family can attend the book fair during the school day, and not everyone will be familiar with how a school book fair works. Making participation easy and welcoming is an important part of your planning.
Think about all the ways families and friends might want to participate. Some may want to shop with their children. Others may want to purchase books for classrooms, support the school library, or shop online from home.
Clear communication can help everyone feel included.
Make sure families know when they can visit, how students will shop, what payment options are available, and how they can access teacher wish lists. If your fair offers online shopping, share those details, too.
You can also consider hosting a family shopping event or inviting families to visit the fair before or after school, depending on your schedule. This year, we are going to host a special open house on a Friday after school. I am excited to see what this addition to our book fair means to our kids and families. I am hoping it will bring community members to our event too.
Don't forget grandparents, relatives, and other special people in your students' lives. They may not be able to attend in person, but they might still love the opportunity to help a child choose a book.
The easier it is for people to participate, the more opportunities you create for books to find their way into homes, our library, and the classrooms.
6. Make Book Discovery the Star
This is my favorite part of a book fair: watching students discover books!
They pick up a book, read the back, show it to a friend, find a familiar author, or discover a new series. Sometimes they arrive knowing exactly what they want. Other times, they need a little time to explore.
Give them that time.
A book fair should be a place where students feel encouraged to browse, ask questions, and discover something new. One student might be searching for a graphic novel, while another wants nonfiction about animals, a mystery, a picture book, a new journal, or a book filled with jokes.
Every reader is different, and that's what makes the experience so special.
With Literati, the themed book fair experience helps bring books to life and creates an inviting space for students to explore different genres, interests, and reading levels.
As you plan, think about how you can make the space welcoming and easy to navigate. Keep books accessible, encourage students to look beyond familiar titles, and give them opportunities to talk about what they find.
You can also invite students to recommend books to their classmates or share what they're excited to read. Those conversations can help other students discover books they might not have picked up on their own.
7. Use Your Rewards With Intention
As you plan your book fair, think about how the rewards you earn can support your school's goals.
Literati offers options that can include book profit, Partner Credits, cash, or a combination. Before the fair begins, consider what would make the biggest difference for your students, library, and even the teachers.
Would you like to add new books to the school library? Build classroom libraries? Help students take books home? Save Partner Credits for future collection development or other items you want to add to your library and school?
Having a plan can help you make the most of the opportunities your book fair creates.
For me, this is one of the things that makes a book fair so meaningful. The impact doesn't have to end when the fair closes. The books and resources you bring back into your school can support reading and learning throughout the year.
I also encourage you to share your plans with your school community. When families and teachers understand how the book fair supports students, they can see the value of participating beyond the shopping experience.
8. Celebrate the Fair—Don't Just Finish It
When the last student checks out and the last box is packed away, don't let the book fair simply disappear. Take a little time to celebrate!
Thank your volunteers, teachers, families, and everyone who helped make the fair possible. Share photos, highlight favorite moments, and let your school community know how the fair supported your students.
You might share how many books went home, how rewards will be used, or which new books will be added to classrooms and the library. You can also invite students to talk about their favorite discoveries or recommend the books they purchased.
But don't make the celebration only about numbers. Celebrate the stories behind them.
Celebrate the student who discovered a new series, the reader who found a book about something they love, the teacher who added books to their classroom library, and the family who enjoyed choosing books together.
After the fair, take a few minutes to reflect. What worked well? What would you change next time? Were there communication strategies that really helped? Did you have enough volunteers? Were there opportunities to make book discovery even better?
Write down your thoughts while they're fresh. These notes will become a helpful resource when you start planning your next fair.
And before you know it, you'll be getting ready to do it all over again!
A Few Final Thoughts for Your First Book Fair
Your first book fair doesn't have to be perfect. You will learn as you go, discover what works best for your school, and find new ways to make the experience even better.
Start with a goal, make a plan, invite others to be part of the experience, and give students time to discover books they love.
The logistics will get easier. You'll find your book fair superstars, learn which books your students can't wait to read, and discover the ways your school community enjoys participating.
Because at the end of the day, a school book fair is about so much more than sales. It is about choice, discovery, community, and creating a culture where reading is celebrated.
And it is about putting a book into a child's hands and hearing them say, "I can't wait to read this!"
That's the kind of book fair I want to be part of.
If you're planning your first Literati Book Fair, I hope these ideas help you feel ready to get started.
Happy book fair planning, friends.
