The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection’s Bookmobile is back on the move, making one of its first new school year appearances at Ridgeview Elementary in Olathe Tuesday night.
What is it? Throughout the school year, the church’s Bookmobile brings books to local elementary and pre-schools for students to pick out.
- During Bookmobile visits, students get to pick out one new book from the van and one used book from tables that are set up near the van.
- All the books kids select are free.
- The Bookmobile’s catalog is organized by grade and reading level, going up to sixth grade.
- The books are from a wide range of genres and include chapter books, comic books and picture books and are not necessarily religious themed.
Bigger picture: The Bookmobile typically makes three stops at schools in the area every week during the school year.
- The van also occasionally makes summer school stops in June.
- In addition to its nine elementary school partners and four pre-school partners, the bookmobile also visits some local schools with higher than average numbers of students who participate in free or reduced lunch programs.
- The Bookmobile has been making school visits for roughly seven years and was built in 2015.
- Since then, the van has been driven and supervised by church volunteers.
Where do the books come from? Some of the books are donated by Church of the Resurrection congregants.
- Other books are paid for through funds that have been donated by the congregation.
- Local schools and businesses also sometimes hold used book drives, which add to the Bookmobile’s inventory.
What they’re saying: “We know that kids who have books of their own at home are more likely to have better reading skills and do better in school,” said Roberta Lyle, program director for the Church of the Resurrection.
