Sometimes, you just need to chill with a good book. One day, when school librarian Leane Krause greeted her students – weary after finishing their state reading assessment – she knew they needed a break. “I said, ‘You know what guys, you just did academic reading for a test, so today we’re just going to read for fun.”
Krause, a librarian media specialist with a master’s in library science, says she’s lucky to have a large library at Benignus Elementary in Klein, Texas, that lets the kids spread out, explore, or relax, and which includes a small amphitheater where she can lower the lights, so it serves as a mini planetarium. “The kids can read under the stars if they want to, or they can go work on a stick puzzle together,” says Krause, now in her seventh year at the Houston-area school. “It was very choice oriented, just to show them reading can be fun.”
Other times she projects energy that’s much more upbeat. “I’m loud,” she says. “This year, I have been singing and dancing to theme songs in the library. “And with that energy, I try to pull them into the space as well.”
So, it’s no surprise that Krause, who has used the Literati book fairs going on three years now, says her favorite fair theme so far matches her high-energy vibe – Story Arcade, which highlights early video games like Mario Kart. “Everybody knows Mario, and I had a little Mario figure put up. It got them talking about the books, and it got them just excited to come in and see what was there.”
The colorful fair graphics make for fantastic displays with giant pixelated characters from video games like Minecraft, Sonic, or Pokémon. The Literati Pinterest site also offers inspiration from the work created by other librarians across the country. Krause has her hands full educating some 750 students in grades K through 5 . But the fair is so important to her that she went a step further and supplemented the extensive Literati materials by designing her own graphics and signs for the fair. “They are still hanging up outside my library because the kids love them so much. So my library is still decorated.”
The library includes a small amphitheater where she can lower the lights, so it serves as a mini planetarium.
Krause says the fair preview videos that Literati provides offer a chance for her students to get curious about what books they may want to dive into, as well as a chance to hear from authors about what inspired them to write their stories. She says there’s plenty of learning to go with the fun theme, including educational games, art stations and even guidance for students to write and develop their own video game ideas.
Krause says the proceeds from this year’s fair went to support more equipment for the school’s robotics program and more book purchases for the library – something that is highlighted to the families who are ultimately supporting the fairs. Bringing in families to the mix is important, Krause says, because the students – whose mascot is the Leopards – can share their enthusiasm with their parents and grandparents. “In the spring we open the fair to anyone, but we focus on grandparents in the fall, and then we call it ‘lunch with your leopard,’ where students can invite a grandparent or other loved one. They come eat lunch with their kiddo and then shop at the book fair.”
Krause recalls switching to Literati from another company because of the quality of the books and selections of titles after being tired of receiving poor quality materials from other fairs. “With the last company, there was always a book series where I would have to say, ‘You’re not going to want to buy that because the pages are going to fall out in about three days.’”
“Kids and their parents have really embraced Literati,” Krause says. “They like the quality, they like the selection. They like that you’re not getting a cheap necklace with a book that the kid will never read because they really only wanted the necklace. Now, kids are excited for the books and not for the slime toy.”
Krause says the fairs are peak points of fun during the school year, and she’s proud that they serve as an inspiring time for students. “There are all different kinds of reasons why kids love the library. Some obviously love it for the books. Some love it just because it’s such a different atmosphere from the classroom, and they don’t realize that they’re actually learning as well there.”
