Millennials share their most beautifully nostalgic memories of the Scholastic Book Fair

The Scholastic publishing company held its first book fair in 1981, and the event has remained a staple of American schools ever since. But even if it’s been around since the Reagan administration, it's clearly left a major mark on many Millennials, who can vividly remember pausing their Spice Girls CDs, chatting about the latest South Park episode in single-file lines, and walking into the library to encounter a wonderland of colorful cardboard cutouts and neatly arranged paperbacks.

For me and many of my friends, these book fairs were our gateways into literature. I have many beautiful memories of discovering The Chronicles of Narnia and Goosebumps and The Hardy Boys—childhood staples that prompted me to keep exploring into middle school and beyond. For all I know, I wouldn’t be a professional writer if it weren’t for those innocent days roaming around the shelves.

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Scholastic book fair nostalgia

If you look around online, Scholastic nostalgia is everywhere—including numerous threads on the /millennials subreddit, where people look back warmly on this beloved school-days ritual. One theme: Lots of kids, like me, were entranced by Goosebumps, the children’s horror-novel series penned by R.L. Stine. (It’s hard to picture the book fair without envisioning the cover of The Haunted Mask.) "Goosebumps were my jam," one user wrote. "I remember trying to collect all of them but could only afford one book every time it came around. I do recall having a pretty reasonable collection by the time I outgrew the books, but they were a huge part of my childhood for sure. Also gave me nightmares lol."

When one Redditor asked why these events were more fun than browsing at a book store, someone responded, "The decorations, displays, and the volunteers were nice, but mainly the magic that comes with sharing it with your whole class. Being able to discuss all the new books, and what series you like at the moment. What was the difference between visiting Blockbuster with your friends on a Friday night and visiting the movie section at Walmart alone? That's my take, at least."

Here are some other thoughtful replies:

- "Books? I only bought Ferrari Testarossa posters every time. My mom was pissed!"

- "I loved the little catalog they'd hand out a few days before. I loved the smell of brand new paper and card-stock covers. The little section of toys, like bright super balls, fancy mini notebooks and pens, stickers. I rarely had any money, but when I did, I planned what I wanted to get. 'Christopher', and 'Mail Order Wings' were the best ones that I remember."

- "I got the Chronicles of Narnia boxed set in first grade because there was a unicorn on the box and read them with my dad every night for almost a year. My grandparents flew in for Thanksgiving, and when my Grandmama took me ice skating my grandfather and dad painted a forest with a lamp post in my closet."

- "Freaking Megan borrowed $4 to buy a poster and pinky promised she would pay me back and never did"

- "Ah, good memories. My mom scraped up a 20 that should couldn’t afford, and I knew she couldn’t afford it. So I would bring it back home and tell her that I didn’t see anything I liked, and that books were stupid. I saw a lot of stuff that I liked and was jealous of all my classmates getting tons of things."

- "I never had enough cash to buy a book I really wanted, so usually a teacher would help me find something I could get with what I had."

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Experiencing the book fair again—now as an adult

A lot of users shared memories that were more painful, noting that they couldn’t afford to buy any books growing up. "I remember not getting sh-t," someone wrote. "When I have a kid, if these are still around, my baby gonna ball and gonna make sure their less fortunate friends are good."

But on that note, some Redditors expressed delight about getting to re-experience the book fairs through new eyes—as an adult with children of their own. (On their official site, Scholastic writes that they "currently host more than 120,000 book sale events in partnership with schools across the country.")

"I work in construction and was doing a small remodel project in a school last year, while school was going on," someone wrote. "They had a book fair! I went into the room after school hours and spent a good 20 minutes looking at everything. I never got to buy anything when I was kid coz money was always tight. And then the next day they let me buy a book and a pack of stickers for my 3 year old lol." Another added, "I hook my kids up every fair cycle because the book fair high is a high I'm still chasing to this day."

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