Children's book comes full circle at Rotary Monster Book Fair

Amanda Engert and her daughter Hazel Engert-Rodgers went to the fair for a nosey, and found treasure. Photo / Laurel Stowell

One woman went to the Rotary Monster Book Fair to find a children's book she remembered from her childhood - and she found the exact book.

Thirty years later it still had her name in it and she took it home all over again, Rotary Club of Whanganui president Stephen Lace said.

The book fair is the club's biggest fundraiser and usually happens once a year.

Across seven days, the club hopes to make $25,000 by selling donated books, CDs, records and puzzles.

"The book fairs have been a wonderful way of giving the Rotary a financial foundation to work from," member Shirley McDouall said.

She has been to every one since she was president in 2008. This year, she said, there was a queue of 50 people on one side of the old Farmers store at 131 Victoria Ave when it opened on June 11, and 30 people at the St Hill St side.

"It was busy. Happy busy. I think a lot of people were happy to get out."

The 65,000 books are sorted into categories, with some sorted by alphabet as well. Volunteers keep them in order, and people drop in to donate as well as buy.

The books were stored in Upokongaro Hall this year, and McDouall hopes that can continue.

Whanganui's Rotary Monster Book Fair was busy last week. Photo / Laurel Stowell

Current president Stephen Lace said most of the club's work was focused on helping youth.

Some of the proceeds will go to a foodbank in need post-Covid. But the club also sponsors a child to the Science and Technology Forum in Auckland every year, pays for outdoor programmes and leadership courses, sponsors Books in Homes, builds houses in Fiji, and provides dictionaries for schools and prisoners.

Every year it puts $1000 into eradicating polio and putting together a package for a Pacific family hit by a cyclone. This year, supporting the Wellington Children's Hospital is a major focus, and a smaller book fair raised $6000 for that.

The current fair will be open for three more days - 9am to 5pm on June 19 and 20, and 9am to 4pm on June 21.

McDouall is hoping all the books will be gone by then.