A book bonanza

Mike Sciacca

A very focused second-grader made his way through the book fair held

at Huntington Seacliff Elementary School, navigating the maze of book

shelves, all the while clutching what he was looking for.

It was the first of the Harry Potter books. It was his to buy, to

read, to memorize.

If you did a double take, you would have sworn it was Harry Potter

himself. But it was Gunnar Rodenas who, had he been wearing glasses,

would have shown a striking resemblance to the fictional character who

has captured the imagination of children worldwide.

“I am buying two of his books as well as some other books and games,

he said.

This is the third year that Huntington Seacliff -- also in its third

year of existence -- has staged a book fair. The goal of the fair, said

co-chairs Julie Beisswanger and Uli Lauwitz, is to expose the school’s

students to the wonders of reading.

“This is my first year as chair for this event and I did it because I

love books,” said Beisswanger, who has a child at the school. “It is so

important that these children learn the virtues of reading, and this book

fair gives them a variety of books to buy.”

The book fair is sponsored by Scholastic Book Fair, which provides the

school with the books at a discount. The money earned from sales will

directly benefit the school’s reading programs.

More than 600 titles were available for children to chose from this

year, Beisswanger said.

Still, Harry Potter seemed to be the books they all wanted. Gustavo

Flores, another second-grader, has seen the movie, “Harry Potter and the

Sorcerer’s Stone,” twice -- on the same day, in fact. He also had a Harry

Potter book in tow as he searched for different titles.

“I like books because they have a lot of detail in them and I get to

use my imagination,” he said.

But Harry Potter was getting a run for his money from a bunch of

rambunctious third-graders, all of whom were looking for one of the five

books in a series featuring the adventures of Captain Underwear. It is a

very popular book series, according to this group of boys.

While Captain Underwear caught the fancy of the boys, the younger

girls seemed to favor the book, Junie B. Jones, a story about a

kindergarten-aged girl and her antics.

The fair also had on display the entries from the school’s recent

Parent Teacher Assn. Art Reflections Program. Walls were adorned in art,

and photographs and literary prose was turned in by students.

“It’s nice to combine the reflections program and the book fair. It

gives the children the opportunity to view the work of their fellow

students,” said Principal Ann Sullivan.