The Ten Commandments of Letting Your Child Visit Their School Book Fair

Fall marks the beginning of one of the most exciting reading seasons of the year — school book fair season! The book fair is a decades-old tradition that school children adore. And why shouldn’t they? It gives them access to a huge variety of books, specifically selected to match their interests, and it lets them shop at school. (It’s the original pop-up store!) What’s not to love about that?

However, parents who haven’t experienced this tradition before need to be aware of some universal truths that accompany book fairs at every school. So, for the uninitiated, here are ten things that every parent must know before letting their kid head off to their local school book fair.

1.  Let your kid buy the Minecraft book. It will be okay. Honestly. Not every kid discovers The Phantom Tollbooth at the same time.

2.  Nothing on planet Earth is easier to rip than a book fair catalog.

3.  The book fair concept of the “Paperback Exclusive” is a sacred thing. Basically, book fairs get the opportunity to publish exclusive paperback editions of bestselling, hardcover picture books — editions that you can only buy at book fairs — which means that you get the chance to buy a $22 book for a SIGNIFICANT discount. Cherish and respect the “Paperback Exclusive.”

4.  You will, inevitably, find your favorite book in your child’s book fair catalog — the book that moved you, inspired you, changed your whole life. Your kid will not be interested in this book AT ALL. There’s nothing you can do about it. (Sorry.)

5.  Schools often send children home with book fair “wish lists,” which encourage kids to mark down every title in the catalog that they want you to buy for them. This proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, how schools feel about your money.

6.  More than once, you will forget that the book fair was today. And your kid will come home and they’ll be miserable and it will be all your fault. (Fortunately, most school book fairs now have an online ordering period that will still let you place an order, but that doesn’t forgive the fact that it was ALL YOUR FAULT.)

7.  School book fairs, inexplicably, sell things other than books. While the majority of the kids in your child’s class will come back from the fair with arms full of promising titles, there will always be one kid who somehow has the money to only buy toys, posters, and every other knick-knack they sell. You are 100% allowed to hate that kid’s parents. They are the WORST.

8.  Want an easy way to feel good about yourself? Buy your child’s classroom a stack of books at the book fair. They will be put to good use.

9.  The quality of a book fair title is inversely proportionate to how much “extra swag” comes with the book. So, if the book is accompanied by stickers, a charm bracelet, and 3D glasses, chances are, it’s an epic stinker. However, that equation is flipped when it comes to attracting your child’s interest. There could be a limited edition picture book, printed on $100 dollar bills, written by J.D. Salinger and Harper Lee, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak and N.C. Wyeth, and, if it appears on a shelf next to a book that comes with a key chain that makes fart sounds … it will be INVISIBLE to all children.

10.  Taking a stroll through the book fair at your child’s school will make you feel like a kid again — in all the best ways. You won’t get any of the angst or anxiety. Just giddiness and nostalgia. Being surrounded by National Geographic and Harry Potter books can be VERY therapeutic.