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York Avenue Preschool will hold its annual Book Fair April 12-14, 2016. The school’s lobby will be transformed into a wonderful children’s bookstore featuring a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction books, as well as sticker and other activity books perfect for summer reading and gift giving. Titles have been hand-selected by York Avenue Preschool’s librarian Ms. Katherine with both YAP and Gymtime communities in mind. Below, Ms. Katherine reveals more details and shares her thoughts about this special event.

When will the bookfair take place?
Thanks to our tireless bookfair chairpersons and Parent Association Board Members and our wonderful parent volunteers, the bookfair will be open Tuesday, April 12 and Wednesday, April 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 pm, and Thursday, April 14, from 8:15am – 6:00pm.  Again this year, we will have two convenient checkout stations, with “square” technology for faster credit card processing.  The square permits us to accept all credit cards, including American Express and allows us to be paperless.

What is your favorite part about the bookfair?
I love watching families get so excited about the new books they have purchased at the bookfair that they sit right down on the floor and start to read those books together without even waiting to take them home.

How do students and teachers benefit from bookfair sales?
A percentage of all sales come back to the library. We use these funds to purchase new and replacement books, repair damaged books and sponsor author readings. YAP is very fortunate to have a dedicated library space outside of the classroom and it is one of the few preschools in the city that has a circulating library where books are regularly brought home by students to be shared by families. YAP, PEP and cooking teachers also borrow books to enhance specific lessons, art or cooking projects.

Anything else?
Once again, we will be selling gift certificates that families can present to the classroom teachers or the library. The children love giving these certificates to their teachers to show their appreciation and the teachers love receiving them because they are able to use the certificates to purchase bookfair books for the school that help support and enhance the school’s curriculum and build the library inventory.

What is the book selection like this year?
In one word—Great! A diverse selection of beautifully illustrated and smartly written books from a wide variety of outstanding authors will be available.  I spent many hours selecting books for ages 2 to 10 in all formats from board book to hardcover and paperback. There are new and classic picture books, early readers, and interesting biographies and other non-fiction works in science, sports, math, history and general reference. We are expecting current bestsellers like “Finding Winnie” and “Last Stop on Market Street,” as well as many books that were just released in February and March, including “Mother Bruce” by Ryan Higgins, “Fancy Nancy: Saturday Night Sleepover” by Jane O’Connor, “When Spring Comes” by Kevin Henkes, and “Let’s Play” by Herve Tulet. There also will be many titles featuring popular characters like “Peppa Pig,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Daniel Tiger,” “Froggy,” “Maisy and Thomas the Train.” I am so excited about the inventory that it is taking a lot of will power not to spoil it and list all of the titles here!

What is new at the bookfair this year?
On Thursday, April 14th from 8:15am-9:30am we will be having a special “Bagels with Buddies” event where students can share yummy treats with parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, caregivers and other special friends (2 max/child) while they browse the bookfair. During this time, there will also be a demonstration and book signing by YAP parent David Fahrer. David has developed a new story-telling medium that combines the physicality of the classic children’s picture book with the interactivity of smartphone apps. The reader straps any smartphone into a false bottom built into the back of the book. The smartphone screen shows through cut-outs on each page, while the app animations integrate seamlessly with the illustrations and storyline. It really is clever and something you won’t want to miss.

I look forward to seeing everyone there!