By Tyler Dahlgren

Things tend to get festive in a flurry in and around the hallways of an elementary school about this time of year. At Dudley Elementary in the heart of Gothenburg, they give themselves a head start.

An integral piece of the elementary school experience, everybody loves a Scholastic Book Fair. It’s a slice of nostalgia, a common core memory filled with scratch-and-sniff stickers, magic erasers and rolled up paper posters.

Dudley Elementary’s is a book fair with flair, a week of flat-out fun housed in the school’s library. Librarian Amy Harrison’s space is thematically transformed into whatever the imagination dreams up. This year’s theme, Candy Land, called for a vibrant splash of colors.

The team at Dudley delivered.

“We start brainstorming ideas over the summer, just really thinking about what the kids would like and what they’d get a kick out of,” Harrison said. “From there, it’s just collecting cardboard and water heater boxes from downtown and bringing the idea to life.”

For students past and present, the end result of all that hard work is a core memory.

“I remember always looking forward to the book fair,” said sophomore Aubrey Evert, who volunteers to run the cash register in the morning before the school bell rings. “Every single time that it would come, I’d be very excited. Mrs. Harrison is my aunt, so I’ve always gotten to help out with it. It’s really fun.”

The week before the book fair, Dudley holds its annual Coin Drive. Each day, students are encouraged to bring coins in; pennies on Tuesday, nickels on Wednesday, dimes and quarters on Thursday and whatever they can scrounge up on Friday.

“We throw some dress up days in there just to make it extra fun for them,” Harrison said. “The money we raise from the Coin Drive allows us to buy books for teachers’ classrooms, and we’re also able to put some extra money in the register for kids that are a little short on change.”

When the students met their fundraising goal this year, they were rewarded with an opportunity to turn their principal and another lucky staff member into “human ice cream sundaes.”

“They always meet their goal,” Floyd laughed.

To appreciate the library’s transformation, you almost have to see it. The level of detail is phenomenal. Every single kid lit up, wide-eyed and smiling, when they passed through the candy cane and lollipop adorned cardboard castle entrance and into the book fair.

“It’s always really cool to come in and see the new book fair,” said Carter Tucker, one of the fifth-grade volunteers. “I enjoy helping people and just getting the privilege to work.”

At Dudley, the library is a hub. It’s the beating heart of the school, where imaginations run wild and creativity flourishes.

“You have to make it that,” Harrison said. “You want the kids to walk in and feel like this is somewhere they belong, like ‘Oh, okay, now I’ve arrived somewhere where I feel welcome and there’s something here for me.’”

Harrison hopes the students will one day look back on the book fair and smile. Hopefully, they’ll come back.

“That’s why she’s here,” she said of her niece. “To get a sophomore in high school up at 5:30 in the morning, you really have to want to be here. I’d like to think it’s because she loves me, but I think she loves the book fair, too.”

Sometimes, it’s as simple as that. As simple as a smile, and, in between the perusing, coffee and pastries, there’s plenty of those at Dudley Elementary’s Scholastic Book Fair.

“I always love seeing the little kids come in with a smile on their face, finding some books they love,” Evert said.

On this Wednesday morning, Tucker and fellow fifth-grader Maddy Anderson are fielding questions and pointing customers in the right direction. It’s grandparents day at the book fair, and Candy Land is buzzing with excitement.

“I just love working at the book fair, looking at all the cool stuff and meeting all the people,” Anderson said. “This is a really special school. All the teachers are really nice, and the memories and friends you make here are really awesome.”

Even with the book fair taking over its space, Harrison’s library stays open. Her passion, Floyd said, means everything.

“Mrs. Harrison has such a passion for reading and really does transform our library into a wonderland,” Floyd said. “We have lots of people coming in, and they’re always amazed. The Book Fair is busy all the time, and it’s promoting literacy and reading at home, which is always great. She does an amazing job of getting books into the hands of kids and getting them excited about reading.”