PTA's Barnes & Noble Fundraiser a Success

The Cat in the Hat was an unusual guest at the Barnes and Noble in Nanuet this past Saturday. However, he had a good reason to stop by: Dr. Seuss was the theme for this year's Book Fair Fundraiser hosted by the Nanuet Elementary PTA.

Organizer Tarra Nicholson was happy with the turn out.

"It's a very successful day with a lot of parents coming," Nicholson said. "Our spotlight was Dr. Seuss." Hundreds of children showed up for the event.

"I think it's a great way to bring the community and faculty together in one place where the focus is literature," said Kindergarten Teacher Kelli Brady.

Kim Moss came with her daughter who was playing one of the ThinkFun games called Zingo!

"I think it's a great way to get kids in and excited about something," Moss said.

The purpose of this book fair was to raise money for the elementaries because a percentage of every purchase that day with a voucher was donated to the schools. Online purchases also contribute to this fundraiser until this Thursday with a special promotion code. Details on online purchases can be found on the PTA's website.

Highview Guidance Staff Melissa Lipson had her son Zachary there to help her at the game table. Faculty and staff manned the game table, which highlighted the ThinkFun games. These ThinkFun games are geared toward children and helping them learn in a more creative and strategic way.

First Grader Matthew Garcia liked the games the most and his mother Evelyn was impressed with the fundraiser.

"This is wonderful how they get the parents involved," she said. "It's a great event."

There was also Storytime at the top of the hour, every hour. Miller Librarian Iris Heller read The Cat in the Hat and later, Miller Principal Elizabeth Smith got ready for Storytime with Sneetches and other stories.

Robert Himelfarb was one of the kids that joined in with Storytime.

"I'm buying "Block by Block" (Creative Building ThinkFun Game) and A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time," he said holding up his game and book. 

Scott Widney brought his daughter Sage to the event.

"My daughter Sage loves Storytime. We come here a lot for Storytime and go to the libraries also," he said.

Kayla Pringle, a 3rd grader at Highview, sat in front during Storytime. Her mother Denise said she was happy to come today with Kayla. 

"She really enjoys it. She loves to read," she said. "It's really important that we came out to this."

The special guest during Storytime was the Cat in the Hat himself. Several kids gave him hugs and posed with him. One of which was Gabriel Rodriguez. The Cat in the Hat covered Gabriel's face at first jokingly, but that was because Gabriel's older brother Daniel was the one in the suit.

"It's cool. I like it," Daniel said. When asked if it gets hot in there, he replied, "It's not too bad. I'm used to it (being hot) because of football practice." Daniel referred to the football gear he has to wear. His mother, standing off to the side, was proud of him.

"It's wonderful. It's a great opportunity for him to help out," Kayla Rodriguez said of her son Daniel putting on the suit for the little ones.

Daniel took a break from being Cat in the Hat to visit with Bridget Clancy who was manning the craft table. At the craft table, kids made pumpkin creations with art supplies, crayons and glue.

Victoria Daly and her sisters Lindsay and Abigail were all at the puzzle table, which had mazes, word games and coloring pages.

Her parent Pat said "(Victoria) enjoys it. She was looking to come this morning. She saw her teacher and was very excited."

There were also raffles and prizes throughout the day.