Wednesday morning I attended an event where Miss Mississippi Anne Elizabeth Buys was reading to students at Sherman Avenue Elementary.

After some discussion, it was decided to hold the event in the library and as we arrived before the students I began to wonder around.

There is just something about being in a library or a bookstore that gets me excited. I enjoy just wandering amongst the shelves and looking at the books, occasionally pulling one from the shelf to read what it is about and if I like it snapping a photo of the cover for later addition to my ever growing list.

Wednesday was a little different though because I was in an elementary school library.

I wouldn’t be looking for new books to read here, but I was excited to walk around the higher reading level shelves and see if any of my favorite books were still in rotation.

What got me the most excited though was not the books currently owned by the library, but the books for sale. It was book fair time at Sherman Avenue, and growing up that was always one of the best weeks of school.

It was incredible to see how little the book fair had changed since I was in elementary school (expect for there was now a card reader, we were all cash).

One box of posters was already sold out, the pencils looked to be popular and the books were arranged for sale on the shelves in the same traveling cases as always.

It was at book fairs growing up where I found what would turn out to be some of my favorite books and my love of reading was in part born.

I didn’t recognize many of the books (except Captain Underpants and Magic Tree House, two book fair staples), but I was happy to see that another generation would have the opportunity to spark a love of books.

After walking through the book fair, I continued my wandering of the shelves while waiting for the second graders to arrive for the program.

The first familiar book that caught my eye was a Harry Potter book, the series that defined my generation’s love of reading.

Then nearby I spotted books from one of my favorite series Charlie Bone.

Those same books still sit on my shelf at home and I was happy to see that the copies at Sherman Avenue were well worn. The adventures I went on with Charlie and his friends are fond memories of mine.

I laid in bed that night thinking back of all the incredible series I read growing up from Alex Rider to Pendragon, Ranger’s Apprentice, The Last Dragon Chronicles and Shadow Children, which started with “Among the Hidden.”

Those were some of my favorites and I hope a new crop of young readers finds the adventures hidden within them and all the new series that have come out since I was their age.

Brandon O’Connor is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. You may reach him at brandon.oconnor@vicksburgpost.com.