Bright Red Book Bus returns for 10th year of supplying summer reading

KAMLOOPS — Like the ‘Little Engine that Could’, the Bright Red Book Bus is steadily driving through Kamloops for another summer of free books.

This summer marks the 10th year that the bus has toured around the area. Over the past decade, the bus has handed out 34,000 books for kids to take home and keep in the hopes of encouraging summer reading.

Tricia Persad is the literacy coordinator for School District 73, and says with the free books, literacy guides manning the bus, and the iconic red vehicle itself, the initiative is all designed to make reading fun.

“I just love seeing the children come up to the bus. They’re so excited to see the bus. They’re so excited to choose,” she says.

The book bus began back in 2014 with a donation from the Stollery Foundation. The program was brainstormed and eventually formed by Literacy in Kamloops, BGC Kamloops, the Thompson Nicola Regional Library and School District 73, and it quickly became an educational passion project.

“It’s been changed into a little library and we’ve got a lot of little creatures living in the nooks and crannies in there and it’s a really whimsical feel when you go through there,” says Jodi Lebourdais, Program Coordinator with Literacy in Kamloops. “It always feel really good to be able to give those books to kids because it does really change. You know, being able to take a book home and feel proud of it is something that’s really important to a lot of kids, so we’re excited to be able to do that.”

The goal has always been to boost literacy skills and encourage kids to keep up with their reading over summer break.

“It’s a really, really interesting project,” says Persad. “It’s about joyful literacy and it’s about choosing books, finding something you really want to read, and then reading it on your own, perhaps, or with your parent. We really want to get kids excited about reading.”

The bus is partly funded through the Raise-a-Reader Campaign and Literacy in Kamloops says those donations will be all the more important after their usual grant funding for staffing with the Canada Summer Jobs Program fell through this summer.

“We’re going to be really looking to our community to help us continue to fund the book bus program,” adds Lebourdais.

For this summer though, the bus is already checking off stops on its list.

“Of course, the bus goes everywhere, so there is that equity piece. We want all children to benefit from the bus,” adds Persad.

The full schedule of where the bus will be, and when, can be found on the Bright Red Book Bus Facebook page.