A Whole Lotta Heart at St. Mark’s Book Fair

Holy Books, Batman! St. Mark’s Book Fair Brings the Magic

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time working with schools, it’s that St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic School knows how to do a book fair right. The moment we pulled up to set up, we were greeted by the glorious chaos of Trunk or Treat—kids in costumes, candy flying, and me trying not to barter books for Reese’s Cups. It was the perfect sneak peek into a week that would overflow with joy, laughter, and more book love than even I could fit in my shelves.

We officially kicked things off on Monday including tag-teaming Lit Night, where families poured in to browse, shop, and soak up the Book Fairy magic. Parents mingled, teachers popped in to snag classroom favorites, and kids bounced between me (Sylvia, your favorite silver storymobile) and the indoor fair setup like literary ping-pong balls.

By the time the week wrapped on Thursday afternoon, we’d met and helped around 500 students—from Pre-K’s tiniest bookworms to the too-cool 8th graders pretending they weren’t totally excited about Dog Man (we see you). Together, we displayed and discussed over 1,000 titles, covering everything from graphic novels to bilingual picture books to the latest middle-grade must-reads.

Now, I know what you’re thinking—no tchotchkes?! That’s right. We went full book-purist mode, and the kids loved it. Our energy was all about the stories—and, okay, maybe our “6–7,” “Main Character Energy,” and “St. Mark’s” bookmarks had something to do with it. We sold sixty-seven, 6-7 bookmarks! Who needs erasers shaped like tacos when you’ve got bookmarks with attitude?

Throughout the week, we shared more than a few happy tears and hugs. You should’ve seen the look on that kid’s face when he finally got the holiday LEGO book and build set he’d been eyeing since day one—the pure joy, the thank-yous, the “best day ever!”s… it was enough to feed my fairy spirit for a year.  And if we didn’t have it in stock? No worries—we ordered it, got it delivered within the week, and made sure every young reader got their story.

Teachers and staff shopped, too (because let’s be real, grown-ups deserve good stories and new classroom reads as much as anyone). We loved helping them pick titles for their shelves and wish lists—and the conversations reminded me why I love this gig.

When Thursday came to an end and we packed up the last box, I sat there thinking about how much joy those books will bring.

St. Mark’s, you were everything a book fair should be—enthusiastic readers, kind teachers, patient parents and families, and kids who reminded us that reading is pure magic. Thank you for welcoming me and The Book Fairy into your halls and hearts.

Until next time—keep your bookmarks handy, your book piles tall, and don’t talk 6-7 with those 8th graders…yipes!

XO,

Sylvia

P.S. Want to book your book fair? Hit me up!