Come to the Book Fair!

If you're looking for children's books and educational toys for the young ones on your shopping list, come on down to the Holiday Book Fair at Macdonough School.

While you're picking up the newest "If you give a Cat a Cupcake", you will also be paying for field trips for Macdonough students. Our goal is to raise enough money pay for one field trip per child.

As a member of the PTA, I was thrilled when the executive board decided to abandon the traditional fundraising methods this year -- no catalogs of gift wrap, no cookie dough order forms. We voted against sending our kids out to selling door-to-door or pressuring friends and family to buy stuff they didn't want or need. But that means that this Book Fair is our main fundraiser this year.

We know that three-fourths of our families at Macdonough fall into the lowest-income category of qualifying for free or reduced lunch for their kids -- and our school typically lags behind the other Middletown elementary schools in raising funds for the extras that a PTA can provide. I'm hoping that Middletown Eye readers will help us reach our goal!

The Book Fair has hardcovers and softcovers in all price ranges, for preschoolers up to middle school age. We've also got stocking stuffers like fuzzy markers, Pokemon pencils and giant pointer fingers, which are currently our top seller.

The Book Fair is open from 9 to 3:30 or so, every day through Friday, December 5th, and the public is welcome. We take cash, check and charge cards. If you haven't been there before, Macdonough is at the intersection of Spring Street and Pearl Street. Thanks for supporting the North End!

UPDATE **

We had a celebrity sighting this morning at the book fair! Here's State Senator Paul Doyle coming through with our PTA President Marilyn Dunkley, after he visited the Family Resource Center playgroup!