West Book Fair
When Vestavia Hills Elementary-West first opened in 1977, Tywanna Burton was put in charge of its library. For 35 years, Burton worked to establish the fantastic library students find at West. Burton retired in 2013, leaving her duties to Carla Johnson, who is also passionate about teaching children to love books. A Vestavia resident, Johnson comes to VHEW after 10 years in the Shelby County system.
“I love teaching kids and the library is a place where I can touch every child and teacher in the school. I find that very fulfilling and challenging at the same time,” Johnson said. “We hope to help shape them into students who have a love for reading, research and learning.”
VHEW’s library has more than 11,000 books, and new titles are constantly being added while old titles are replaced as necessary. The largest fund generator for the library is the annual Scholastic Book Fair, which offers popular titles for various reading levels at reasonable prices.
The book fair is Feb. 14-21. Students will be able to browse and shop several times during the week. In conjunction with the book fair, VHEW’s Parent Teacher Organization will hold its open house at 5:30 pm on Feb. 20. Families are invited to shop the Scholastic Book Fair during open house.
-Submitted by Alice Elmore
