Spring Break
Book fair draws bigger crowds, more titles
John Bailey
Issue date: 11/10/08 Section: Focus
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"My favorite?" asked Alexander Andrusis, 8, of South Windsor. "I guess - most of them."
Andrusis's answer proved to be the right one, as the tables in the Rome Ballroom were overflowing with children's and young adult literature of every stripe, from classics like Don Freeman's "Corduroy" and Tomie dePaola's "Strega Nona" series to more recent hits like Judith Schachner's "Skippyjon Jones" books.
Parents and children alike - along with plenty of college students seeking to rekindle childhood memories - turned out in droves to support the event, which lasted from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
The Andrusis family, like many others present, expressed a strong commitment to children's literacy.
"[Our children] have been read to since before they were born," said Sue Andrusis, Alexander's mother. "We're buying books, we're meeting the authors and we're getting photos to send to family out-of-state. We've been going [to the fair] for years."
Popular authors and illustrators of children's books lined the walls of the room, alternately signing books, talking to eager fans and giving presentations. Tomie dePaola, author of over 100 books and winner of both the Newbury and Caldecott honors, was one of the major attractions, noted fair employee Brendan Galvin.
"We've been consistently busy. The authors are drawing lots of people," Galvin said.
Fair attendence wasn't just restricted to families with children, either.
"The demographics change," said Josh Zajdman, also a fair employee. "We have a lot more mid-range reading for young adults this year. We see lots of adults who are enthusiastic about children's literature and aspiring children's [literature] authors who want to be among the greats."
Both Galvin and Zajdman are employees of the UConn Co-op, which co-hosted the event.
Copies of the authors' and illustrators' work were available to be signed and purchased, along with pre-signed copies. Profits from the fair went to benefit the Northeast Children's Literature Collections of the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center.
Aside from purchases, arts and crafts tables and a quiet reading room were available to attendees. Volunteers helped children draw and color scenes from their favorite books, while others spent their time in costume, giving attendees an opportunity to have their photo taken with one of Maurice Sendak's "Wild Things" or Clifford, the Big Red Dog.
"I wish I had [an event like this] when I was little," said volunteer and Pomfret resident J. J. Ahmed. "Seeing the authors, the kids, everything - it makes me want to read more."
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