Hawley Elementary School kicked the spring season off in a big way — with its annual spring book fair that ran from Monday, March 16, to Friday, March 20.

The school's gymnasium was once again lined with shelves and tables for the special occasion, courtesy of multinational education company Scholastic.

Many were filled with an assortment of books, with each section carrying a different genre or theme. These ranged from picture books, chapter books, and graphic novels to fact books, favorite characters, and adult bestsellers and gifts. Students could also buy other items such as posters, pens, pencil pouches, stationary sets, rulers, or bookmarks spread throughout the shelves and tables.

For opening day, or "wish list day," students browsed the fair and wrote the top five books they wanted on a wish list. PTA parent volunteer Marisa Portera, who led other parent volunteers in setting up the fair, said this gave students a chance to go home and talk with their families about which books they could buy.

The next four days were "buying days," where students came back to the fair with their class and bought their books of choice. Students excitedly went from shelf to shelf looking for the books they wrote on their wish lists, while parent volunteers were ready to help at a moment's notice.

However, students were far from the only ones walking out with goodies; teachers also picked out books they wanted for their classroom. Room parents sent a note to students with their teacher's list, saying they could contribute a book for their classroom if they wanted to.

Two rows of bins were set out for the "buying days" of the book fair, each labeled with a teacher's last name. Students could purchase a book for their teacher and drop it into the bin anytime throughout the week.

Even the Hawley librarian stopped by and bought a bunch of books for the school library, according to Portera.

"It's amazing seeing how excited everyone is," Portera said.

She added that she was very grateful towards her fellow parent volunteers who helped lay out the fair. Portera said she and seven other volunteers came the previous Friday, which was a half day of school, and set everything up in an hour.

"We just have incredible volunteers, just a wonderful group," Portera said. "And I'm equally thankful to the school because the gym teacher can't use his classroom for a whole week. He's willing to take his gym class into the multipurpose room for us."

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.