Blossoming Reads: A Recap of the YISS Spring Book Fair

From April 2-4, the Spring Book Fair Committee was happy to welcome back local English book vendor, TongBang Books, for this year’s event. The school grounds could not have looked more beautiful with its flowering trees in full bloom. On the outside, the cherry blossoms were on full display, and on the inside, the YISS main lobby was filled with tables of colorful and intriguing books for readers of all ages.

Once again, TongBang Books offered a wide selection of books at great prices for readers of all ages. TongBang took great care in providing a wide selection of books and provided a link enabling participants to view their inventory. Everything from picture books for preschoolers to novels for older readers was available for sale. Book vendor staff restocked on a daily basis so that all visitors had a robust selection to peruse. Over 3,000 books were purchased in all. The bestselling book during this book fair was the newly released Dog Man: The Scarlet Shredder, which sold a record-breaking 90 copies! Over 300 books from the Christian book vendor, Word of Life, were also available, offering an even wider array of reading materials for our school community.

Many elementary and middle school students had an opportunity to visit with their classes during the book fair, while many high school students visited after lunch or during a study hall.

Over 3,500 titles and 10,000+ units were stocked, from picture books to novels for adults as well as stationary, reference books, and graphic novels. Books were discounted 25 percent or more off the retail price, and a portion of sales proceeds were donated to the YISS PTO to support a variety of reading initiatives, such as prizes for ES Read-A-Thon and author visits. 

We are grateful to our parent volunteers, librarians, media specialists, and teachers for their support in this community-wide event. Efforts to help students find books, giving input to curate a recommended books section, and writing and displaying student book reviews all contributed to the book fair. 

Many took advantage of the opportunity to stock up on good books for the summer, and we look forward to the Fall Book Fair in November. Book fairs not only provide a wonderful opportunity for those in the YISS community but also for guests to conveniently purchase quality English books at great prices. Word has spread about the event as it seems to be drawing a growing number of visitors.

As a result, approximately ₩3 million will be donated to the YISS PTO to support educational enrichment opportunities. Thank you, students, parents, teachers, and staff, for your wholehearted support!

Many thanks to our parent volunteers, Spring Book Fair Committee–Jessica Chung, Christine Lee, Jordan Redmond, and Charles Chan–and the staff of TongBang Books for their dedication and hard work.