Support Continues to Grow for Book and Game
Inspired by the Minnesota State Fair

June 2010 – Debra Frasier’s newly released book A Fabulous Fair Alphabet (Beach Lane Books, Simon & Schuster, June 2010) got its start as a collection of photographs taken by the Minneapolis author/illustrator on her almost-daily visits to the Minnesota State Fair. Now her tribute to the “Great Minnesota Get-Together” has gone national, with the New York Times noting that “Frasier brings to life a jaunty Ferris wheel, a sunburst-yellow pitcher of lemonade and a swirling roller coaster,” and the Washington Post suggesting “Maybe crowds, junk food and heart-stopping rides are more your style. Dip into A Fabulous Fair Alphabet, by Debra Frasier, for a sneak peek.”

Support is growing in Minnesota as well. Frasier was named the 2010 Minnesota State Fair Foundation Author-in-Residence, and has designed a vocabulary game that families can play to add another layer of excitement to their fair-going experience this year. In a major initiative sponsored by Target, game cards will be available at all State Fair Information Booths and via the 103-member MELSA metro library alliance. Throughout the fair, (Aug. 26 – Sept. 6, 2010) game participants can stop by the Fabulous Fair booth nestled in the Baldwin Park “Alphabet Forest” to win blue ribbons for vocabulary excellence and to participate in special photo opportunities.

Frasier, whose 1991 book On the Day You Were Born has surpassed a million copies sold, recently won a prestigious McKnight Artist Fellowship for Writers. She’s delighted at the opportunity she’ll have to interact directly with other State Fair aficionados in August, but has also ramped up her online presence so that families in Greater Minnesota or other regions of the country can join in the excitement. They will be able to follow Frasier’s Alphabet-Letter Treasure Hunt on her award-winning website, debrafrasier.com; they can watch the video on YouTube and sing along with “I Want to Go to the Fair,” an original song Frasier commissioned from the Minnesota band The Lower 48; or they can play at any county or state fair by downloading game cards at her website. Frasier also encourages parents to adapt the game and seek out words and letters on any family outing.

The images in A Fabulous Fair Alphabet are sure to resonate with everyone who looks forward to Fair season. But a front-piece page was left blank intentionally; Frasier hopes that families will use this page to personalize their copies of the book as keepsakes, storing their own Fair memories, images, and words. “Going to the State Fair together is a ritual for many families,” says Frasier.

“Grandparents have passed along their favorite Fair traditions to their grandchildren. The book is a place for all generations to record their experiences together. Imagine if we had a list of favorite words from our relatives’ 1901 trip to the Fair, or 1945, or 2010 for fairgoers of 2060!”

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