Wednesday, November 16, 2011

We are Going Back to Ballou for a Holiday Book Fair!!

Wrap Text around ImageFor all of you who recall the story of Ballou High School in Washington DC from earlier this year, we are delighted to announce that GLW is partnering up again with school librarian Melissa Jackson to get some more books to Ballou. While the year began with less than one book for each student in the Ballou library (the American Library Association advises a minimum of eleven books per student), after our successful spring book fair and the publicity that surrounded it and Melissa's own efforts, Ballou now has four books for each student which is a huge improvement. But, improving is not enough, we want to hit and then exceed the ALA minimum and so we are going to shamelessly take advantage of everyone's holiday joy and gift-giving mood this time of year and hopefully add to the stacks at Ballou with this smaller, but no less enjoyable book fair.

And yes, we will be back in the spring with another big fair for the school again.

One thing we want to stress is that this list is put together with Melissa's input and is comprised of books that Ballou wants and needs. That is part of why we put these book fairs together - we want to gift a school with books they have chosen, not the books we want to give away. It's not cheap and it's not easy, but it's a good thing to do and we hope that you will help us make it happen for Ballou.

Here is the direct link to the wish list at Powells. (And if you want to share it: http://bit.ly/GLWBookFair.) As you all know, we work with Powells because it is a bricks and mortar independent store that is a big part of the city of Portland and we here at GLW like to support bricks and mortar stores at every opportunity. This means there are a few more hoops to jump through when it comes to ordering books but we hope you understand how worthy our cause is both for the school and the store.

It is perfectly fine to purchase used copies of a book (more bang for your buck) but please check and make sure the book is in “standard” used condition and not “student owned” (you will have to click on the title and leave the wish list to check this). The “student owned” copies are very cheap for a reason - they are written in and thus not a good choice for this effort. Also, if at all possible please purchase hardcover copies as they will hold up better and be on the lookout for "SALE" prices as a bunch of the books are on sale this year and quite reasonable.

Once you have made your selections head to “checkout” and you will be prompted to inform Powells if the books were indeed bought from the wishlist. This lets the store know to mark them as “purchased” on the list. After that you need to provide your credit card info and also fill in the shipping address. Here is where the books are going to:

Melissa Jackson, LIBRARIAN
Ballou Senior High School
3401 Fourth Street SE
Washington DC 20032
(202) 645-3400

It’s very important that you get Melissa’s name and title in there - she is not the only Jackson (or Melissa) at the school and we want to make sure the books get to the library.

After all that you buy the books and you’re done! Please head back over here when you get a chance though and leave a comment letting us know who you are, where you’re from and what you bought. Starting tomorrow I will have a continuously updated post listing everyone’s purchases so we can see the books flying their way to our nation’s capitol. I’ll be in constant touch with Melissa too so I can let you all know how things go on her end. The book fair will run through cyber Monday on November 28th and we'll keep you updated on things even after it shuts down. (Hopefully as a sellout.)

And follow us on twitter (@guyslitwire) for updates as well!

23 comments :

Becker said...

I ordered Scars by Rainfiled & Sister Mischief by Goode--glad to see this happening again! Becker in Denver.

grrlpup said...

I'm in Portland, Oregon, and sent Holly Black's White Cat. I read it myself this summer...exciting! Thanks for putting this follow-up together. :)

Anonymous said...

I ordered Dark Dude by Oscar Hijuelos and A Step From Heaven by An Na.

Melissa in south Texas

Jodie said...

I bought:

'Shipbreaker' - Paolo Bacigalupi (loved this novela and I hope the readers at Ballou will too)
'Foundling' - DM Cornish
'I am Scout' - Charles Shields
'Vanishing Act' = John Feinstein

No option to check off wish list as paying with Paypal, but I've e-mailed Powells asking if they can ammend the list. Good luck this time around.

Colleen said...

I took care of it Jodie - thanks everyone!

Jenny Schwartzberg said...

I ordered Nnedi Okorafor's Akata Witch. I'm so glad you are working to build this library!!!

mkpiry said...

I ordered:
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders
by Neil Gaiman


Hope the students in DC enjoy these two as much as I did.

Michelle in MO

Sarah said...

Just ordered How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater and Slam Dunk #01 by Takehiko Inoue. So glad I could help!

Sarah in Minnesota

Anonymous said...

Just ordered:

The Freedom Maze, by Delia Sherman
The Teenage Body Book: A New Edition for a New Generation, by Kathy McCoy.

--Els

Anonymous said...

Just sent:
Deogratias, a tale of Rwanda
Inconegro

Jennifer R. Hubbard said...

Sent Cars on Mars, Watersmeet, and the Surrender Tree.

Kimberly Sabatini said...

Done! Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A S King is on it's way. <3

Sarah Stevenson said...

Just ordered:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

So glad we're doing this again.

Anonymous said...

My comment wouldn't post yesterday. Sent the Foundation Trilogy, The Wee Free Men, I am the Messenger, Twelve Angry Men, Rules, and The Best American Sports Writing. Have read and enjoyed all myself except the sports writing, and I've enjoyed previous years of that. There was apparently a chocolate bar being sent also as a promotional deal; tell the librarian to enjoy it or to make it a prize for a kid for something.

Katy Manck, MLS said...

So glad y'all are doing this again for 2011.

Just sent
- Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances
- Carter Beats the Devil
- The Contender
- War Is Boring: Bored Stiff, Scared to Death in the World's Worst War Zones
- Rimshots: Basketball Pix, Rolls and Rhythms
- Sam Sterns Cooking Up a Storm the Teen Survival Cookbook
- Hoop Queens
- The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Volume One: Microeconomics

Current special is free shipping when over $50, so added 1 more book & got the deal.

Anonymous said...

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick--a favorite of my students in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Melanie said...

I ordered a couple of sciency ones: 13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System and The Richness of Life: The Essential Stephen Jay Gould. Melanie in Nashville, TN

Samantha Vamos said...

Ordered Franny Billingsley's "Chime" and Jay Asher's "Thirteen Reasons Why" as well as Pam Munoz Ryan's "Esperanza Rising." I originally learned about the Ballou Holiday Book Fair via Travis Jonker's "100 Scope Notes." I went to law school in D.C. and through a clinical program, spent some time in a D.C. high school. Melissa Jackson sounds great (enjoyed the link to the Washington Post article) and it's wonderful that Guys Lit Wire sponsored this book fair. I hope Ballou and Melissa receive a ton of books. Thank you.

Sarah said...

I'm in Fairfax, VA and I ordered Pyramids by Terry Pratchett and Speaking Out: LGBTQ Youth Stand Up by Steve Berman.

NG said...

I'm in Canton, Ma. I sent Maureen Johnson's Name of the Star; Anna Dressed in Red and Sunrise over Fallijah.

Erin said...

Hi!

This is Erin from DC.

I bought:

Start It Up
Leviathan
Always Running: La Vida Loca
The Force of Law

Mindy Hardwick said...

I'm in Seattle, WA. I ordered This Boys Life, Animals Make Us Human, and Red, Teenage Girls Write About What Fires Them Up. Thanks for organizing this!

Vicki said...

Hi, a random New Yorker who found a link to your page and the wishlist, and who loves books. I'm sending:

Warriors Don't Cry
You Hear Me?
Dinomummy
Black and White
The Souls of Black Folk
The Mysterious Universe