The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

During the week of March 14-17 Black Butte School Parent Teacher Organization (BBS PTO) and Paulina Springs Books hosted the first-ever book fair at the school. The hope was to inspire the students to get excited about reading.

Head Teacher Delaney Sharp reported, “On the first day there was still the typical hesitancy from my older students. The attitude that books aren’t cool still permeated a lot of their conversations. But on the second day of the book fair, there was a real shift. We went back and explored more titles. They showed genuine enthusiasm. They talked with each other about what books they would buy and were much more interested in looking at the books. By the end of the week all of the kids selected a few books to purchase and were excited to read them.”

The book fair lasted four days and included visits from two local authors: Bethanne Blann of Camp Sherman and Joyce Burk Brown of Sisters. Bethanne Blann read her new book, “Mr. and Mrs. Snowplow are Back!,” which she co-wrote with her late husband, Deputy Dave Blann, Camp Sherman’s beloved deputy sheriff who passed away three years ago. Joyce Burk Brown shared her new book, “The Magic of Listening.”

Paulina Springs Books provided Black Butte School with over 100 books to display at the school. Lane Jacobson, the owner of Paulina Springs Books, teachers, and BBS PTO members, along with help from Paige Bently-Flannery at the Sisters Public Library, selected the display books, focusing on newly released titles in a variety of genres to appeal to all grades, K-8.

The students were able to peruse the books throughout the week. Each student received a gift certificate from the BBS PTO for $25 to spend on books and a 20 percent off coupon from Paulina Springs Books. By the end of the week, each student had a list of books to order. The 100-plus display books were then purchased by the BBS PTO for the school library.

The BBS PTO thanked the community for their fundraising efforts during the annual holiday wreath sale. These funds enabled the PTO to sponsor the $25 voucher for each student, boost the library content with new books, and buy local.