Startup Turns School Book Fairs Into Magical Forests

Picture your child walking into their school library and finding themselves transported into a glowing forest at dusk, with mossy canopies overhead and luminescent mushrooms lighting the path between bookshelves.

That's the vision Jessica Ewing brought to life when she left Google a decade ago to start Literati. She saw a problem: millions of great children's books get published each year, but parents struggle to find the right ones for their kids.

Ewing's company started by using data to match children with books they'd actually love through subscription boxes. But three years ago, she set her sights on something bigger: reimagining the school book fair.

Traditional book fairs have looked the same for decades. Rows of tables. Stacks of books. Nothing special. Literati changed that by creating immersive themes like the Everglow Forest, where twinkle lights flicker through leaves like fireflies and volunteers transform libraries into art installations.

For kids clutching their twenty-dollar bills, the message is clear: books are magical treasures worth celebrating. At some schools, children want to wander through the displays for hours.

The approach is working. Literati now runs about 4,000 book fairs annually and has become the biggest competitor to Scholastic Book Fair, which serves 33 million kids each year.

Last month, private equity firm Trustbridge acquired Literati to help it expand from the Midwest and South into the Northeast and Pacific Northwest. After years of building her vision on a startup budget, Ewing finally has the resources to reach more schools.

The Ripple Effect

Literati's impact goes beyond pretty decorations. By treating children's books as the art form Ewing believes they are, these fairs are changing how a generation experiences reading. Librarians and volunteers get excited about creating these worlds. Parents see their kids genuinely thrilled about books instead of just video games and tablets.

In an age when childhood literacy rates concern educators nationwide, making books feel like an adventure rather than a chore matters more than ever. When walking into a book fair feels like stepping into a storybook itself, kids start to see themselves as readers.

After a decade of work, Ewing is ready to show millions more children that reading can be magic.