By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -
SOUTHWEST RANCHES | The thrill of victory combined with the magic of book fairs—especially those tailored for children—when St. Mark the Evangelist School was selected as the winner of Scholastic Book Fairs’spring 2014 National Elementary School Contest.
The school won $2,000 for a book shopping spree, and also received a visit from New York Times bestselling author Brandon Mull.
Hundreds of students gathered in St. Mark's parish hall Oct. 6 to meet with the author, known for writing youth fantasy titles such as “Pingo,” the Fablehaven series, the Spirit Animals series, the Five Kingdoms series, The Candy Shop War series, and the Beyonders series.
“I’m a very mature guy,” Mull said as he showed his distorted Picasso-like mug shots to students on a PowerPoint presentation. He also shared pictures of his family and snapshots from his younger years, describing one picture as “being eaten by a giraffe.”It was that “giraffe incident of ‘77” that inspired him to write “Spirit Animals”.
“Spirit Animals is really good,” said Paulina Linter, a third grader at St. Mark.
The connection to animals is perhaps the reason why the series is such a hit with young audiences. However, Mull’s ultimate desire is for his books to transcend age barriers, the way works such as Narnia, The Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series have attracted audiences of all ages worldwide.
“The Narnia series taught me the power of imagination. The Lord of the Rings showed me a much deeper level of imagination, and Harry Potter showed me that it is possible to have a young main character that is both smart and twisty. They are all very well written and they have inspired a worldwide literary phenomenon,” Mull said.
St. Mark’s media specialist, Sandy Garcia, along with Danielle McCulloch, Dana Rodriguez and several others, have worked hard to fuel student excitement for reading and visiting the school’s library. During the school’s Mardi Gras-themed Scholastic Book Fair last spring, the decorations transformed not just the library but the entire school.
“They are amazing,” said Ann Haeflinger, a volunteer at St. Mark. “The creative energy that Sandy and Danielle and all of the others put into this was incredible.”
With hallways recalling Bourbon Street, students wearing colorful masks, and plenty of Mardi Gras beads, students, faculty and parents were transported to New Orleans.Classroom competitions were held to see who could raise the most money, younger students took part in coloring contests and all were invited to a family night. The school even sold lollipops for a quarter to buy books for underprivileged kids at the Hope Rural School in Indiantown, Fla.
A total of $200 was raised from lollipop sales alone, while the book fair raised over $3,000 for St. Mark.While a percentage of the proceeds go directly to the school, the greatest benefit is the inspiration that continuously attracts students of all ages to read and think creatively.
“My message to schools is always this: If you want the imagination to stay powerful, read cool stuff and do good stuff,” said Mull. “A good writer is a good reader.”