Horizon Charter school partnered with Seat At The Table Books to host a school-wide book fair from Sept. 23-27.
The fair gave students at Horizon an opportunity to expand their knowledge of literature not just through books but through real conversations with published authors.
Emily Autenrieth, the owner of Seat At The Table Books, 9257 Laguna Springs Dr in Elk Grove, said giving students and authors a chance to connect was vital.
“It’s a good opportunity to build community and build capacity for students, because we have authors coming in to do talks, and I think that is a really special opportunity that the students get to speak with these authors in a closer knit environment,” Autenrieth said.
Hanan Harb Sahourie, the author of “Everybody Be Cool,” presented her journey as an author on Sept 23. Sahourie discussed topics portrayed in her book like how to be successful in the workplace targeting the high school community.
Julie Powell, Horizon’s administrator of strategic initiatives, said Sahourie’s book helps people be successful in the workplace.
Chivaun Oldes, the self-published author of “My ADHD Monster,” “My Anxiety Monster” and “Ollie’s Eating,” spoke about her books on Sept. 26. Oldes’ books help shine light and bring understanding towards neurodivergent kids.
“This is going to speak to lots of folks, but hopefully it’ll also help some students just feel not alone,” Powell said.
Megan Reyes, the author of “The Heroes of Havensong” books and the Llama Quest series, was the final author to share about her career on Sept. 27, the closing day of the book fair.
Each of these authors were chosen to speak at this Book Fair to share about the real journey’s behind their books and help students learn about the aspects of being an author.
“So we chose authors who value each student for who they are, and who can not only share their work, but also show the kids how they can also become authors,” Autenrieth said.
The Seat At The Table Book Fair helped to inspire students to read and learn more about literature through more than just picking up a book.
“It can get students inspired to write when they meet people who get to do this for a living, because usually it’s something just out there, you don’t really get that personal connection,” Powell said.
Seat At The Table Books provides a safe environment for students to enter the world of literature and this event allows students at Horizon to experience that.
“Book fairs are one of those magical things that you can experience at your school site, and homeschoolers also deserve to experience (that), along with giving them that access,” Autenrieth said.
It is difficult to organize events all Horizon students can have access to because the students live across the region.
“Last year we had a lot of events, but there weren’t a whole lot in Elk Grove, so this was an opportunity to give them more access to events,” Powell said.
This book fair gave students the opportunity to experience the magic of these events and develop a better connection to literature.
“We curate our selection to represent the diversity of our community and make sure everyone can see themselves in books,” Autenrieth said, “and it’s a different thing to experience books in person than it is to browse online.”
