MKA's "Dive into Reading" Book Fair is a Spectacular Success!

"This school should be called Nirvana!" declared author T.A. Barron following his visit to the MKA Middle School as part of the 2010 PAMKA Book Fair, "if the kids had even half as much fun as I did, then we all had a great time.  When I spoke about the hero in every child and the joys of traveling in your imagination, they were right there with me – the mark of an excellent school."

This year's Fair also proved to be a blissful experience for the hundreds of students, parents, friends, faculty and staff who enjoyed being immersed in books and reading for five fabulous days.  Under the leadership of tri-campus parent chairs Claire Wilks and Jamie Gorodensky, and with the continuing support of Scholastic Inc.'s Judy Newman MacGregor and Carol Levine, the "Dive into Reading" themed Fair brought a spectacular array of authors to MKA.

In addition to T.A. Barron, Tony DiTerilizzi, Jon Scieszka and John Connolly visited the Middle School, David Shannon, Sarah Weeks and Jon Scieszka (doing double duty) visited the Primary School, while Liz Murray visited the Upper School.  And adults weren't left out either. Author and editor Dominique Browning entertained a predominantly female audience of 150 with her tale of How I Lost My Job, Put on My Pajamas and Found Happiness, while cookbook author Rose Levy Beranbaum and comic book expert and author (and past MKA parent) Michael Uslan were on hand to sign new releases at the Sunday Book Fair Family Day.

From the hundreds of volunteers to the thousands of volunteer hours, from the packed Faculty Tea to the Middle School reading nook, complete with sunken ship and schools of fish, and from the excitement of Brookside's Pajama Night, to the sold-out ice cream Sundae Social, this Book Fair was one for the record books. An incredible $125,000 worth of books were purchased, but perhaps more importantly, the PAMKA Book Fair fulfilled its mission to celebrate reading "The Book Fair has an echoing effect," notes Middle School English teacher Debbie Branker, "the students ask for reading time in their English classes, they've picked out books that they enjoy and they sit in complete silence, reading for pleasure.  And the experience of hearing from authors is a cumulative part of the Middle School experience – even my eighth graders remember who they saw in fourth grade."

Click here for photos of Book Fair 2010