Scholastic Book Fairs! They are like a time machine, connecting past, present, and future. I vividly remember the smell of my school gymnasium, the heavy blue curtains, and the flag flanking the stage. I can still visualize the long tables laid out with bountiful books, and my fellow students filling their arms with new things to read. Today, kids find my work at their own school Book Fairs. In the future, some of those very readers will create their own stories, for a new generation of kids to discover at a Scholastic Book Fair!
Some of my fondest Book Fair memories involve comics. I was able to purchase collections of Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, and The Far Side right there in school. No one told me they weren’t “real” books—that they were not “real” reading. I devoured them. And bought more. And read them until the covers fell off. I had caught the reading bug, and I was hungry for more titles that piqued my interest. Thanks to Book Fairs, I became a huge fan of books by Ann M. Martin, Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, and more.
Inspired, I began to write and draw my own comics prolifically, which offered me a way to process my internal struggles and grapple with big questions using words, pictures, and most importantly: humor! What a gift comics were, to be able to carry with me into the future. What a gift Scholastic Book Fairs were to me and my entire school community.
There aren’t words enough to thank you for the work you do, helping readers find the keys to their very own time machines. I can’t wait to see what they discover.
Sincerely,
Raina Telgemeier
