September 30, 2009

Book Orders


This past weekend I had to enter my orders for Scholastic book orders. Remember those? Even before being a teacher I loved book orders. I was the geek that was excited when the teacher put them out. I’d page through them carefully reading the summary for each book. Each one I wanted would be circled, and then the whole thing would be given to my mom to see what she’d let me order. The fantastic mom that she is, would always let me order at least one book. Even better than ordering would be the day they arrived. I would be so excited about getting that new book placed in my hands, the little order sheet tucked in the front cover. It was like Christmas!

Now that I’m an English teacher I’m the one handing out the order forms and the books when they come in, but my excitement isn’t any less. When the pack of order forms arrive in my mailbox I eagerly go through them (yes circling what I want!). And the day that books of book arrive, I’m more excited than the students! In every order there is at least one book for me. Ok ALWAYS more than one book!

I don’t know if you know this, but teachers get bonus points for each dollar spent. This last time I had over 1600 points! What a dilemma to figure out what to use those points on. In the end, between points and free books, I got 30 new titles for my classroom library! What I tell the kids is that even if you can’t order – you all get new books to pick from. Even my nonreaders get a little wide eyed when I share the new books for the bookshelf with them.  It's a great day of school when the new books come in.

Do you remember book orders? Or am I the only book order geek out there??

17 comments:

  1. I do the Scholastic book club for my school. I love it too! Next week, I've organised a book week for the lower school. We are having a storyteller and an illustrator visit us and do workshops. I am running a book fair after school Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It will be a great week but more than likely exhausting!

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  2. I too loved book order. I was the child who couldn't wait to go home and beg my parents for money to feed my book addiction. Great post.

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  3. I LOVE these - I still grab them from my little brother when he brings them home. (he's a good 20 years younger than me....)

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  4. Oh, nostalgia - I loved circling the books I wanted and then getting the shiny new ones! What a fabulous chance for kids.

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  5. I used to order posters of kittehs all the time from those things. In addition to a bunch of Apple paperbacks.

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  6. I have always loved Scholastic book orders. Only now, it's my husband that gives me the spending limit. :)

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  7. No, I remember them and wish I still got them as a librarian! My sister gets them in her preschool though, and she orders books for her class and my neice. I'll have to get her order forms so I can get books too!

    I didn't get many off the forms as a kid, but I remember getting a Saved by the Bell book that I thought was super cool. :)

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  8. Oh gosh, I LOVED these. Best part of growing up. My mom would let me get one or two an order - that woman deserves an award, let me tell you! And then I re-discovered the book order in college - my sister was an El. Ed. major for a couple of semesters and she told me the date of the book fair and handed me an order form!

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  9. It wasn't too long ago that I did this. One time back in first or second grade, I ordered at least one hundred dollars of books from book orders.

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  10. I remember them too. I use to love it when it was time to order books and I could go to the library and look at the display cases. My mother-in-law is a teacher so she still orders books for her grandsons with her points.
    When I was a public librarian, there was a Scholastic warehouse nearby and on select days they would like librarians come and buy books. It was so much fun to wander up and down the isles.

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  11. I'm currently student-teaching, and the teacher across the hall does the scholastic book orders. We definitely spent most of our teacher team meeting looking at the book order today instead of ya know, talking about teacher things. It was awesome. The Scholastic TAB order form this month has both Maus books for 8 bucks each (which is an incredible deal). The school is having a book fair during open house. I am psyched.

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  12. Aggggh!!! I loved book orders when I was little. I practically put my parents in the poor house over those things.
    My mom is a high school librarian and she's about to have a book fair. I'm so excited!!!

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  13. I am a college freshman - and I still remember how excited I used to get when our teacher handed those down.
    Even when I entered High School, I always went through my younger sis's forms to make sure if there was something for me.
    Ah, nostalgia.
    What a geek am I? xD

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  14. YAY BOOK ORDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111

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  15. I also teach 7th grade and love ordering from the TAB and TRC order forms! Like you, I think I get more excited about it than the students!

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  16. I'm in high school, and now I miss those book orders. I was always one of the people to order about 12 books. :) So much fun!

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