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Wednesday, Jul. 28, 2010

Book mobile gets rolling to keep kids reading

A small bus has been transformed into a moving library at Lake Joy Elementary School.

Lynn Wood, media specialist for the school, said the book mobile has about 700 books it delivers to children who do not have access to books in their homes.

On any given Monday, the bus rolls out to about 40 children, lending out two books at a time. There are also magazines for the mothers, many of whom do not speak English, Wood said.

“We’re trying to get literature in the home,” she said.

The children who come to the bus seem to enjoy browsing the bookshelves. Many keep a reading log for the Accelerated Reading program at Lake Joy, where children earn points for each book read. Those points help the children earn rewards throughout the school year.

One fifth-grader, Maria Moran, has read 12 books already this summer. Jessi Anderson, Moran’s English for Speakers of Other Languages teacher, said she is a voracious reader.

“They wouldn’t have had access to these books if we wouldn’t have been here,” Wood said.

This is Lake Joy’s first summer doing the book mobile. Wood hopes to expand the project next summer.

Studies have shown children who are able to read during the summer maintain their reading levels and vocabulary, Wood said.

The school’s focus is on reading, and it won a School Bell award for its dedication to literacy and reading.

“We just have an environment of reading, which translates to a love of learning,” Wood said.

Wood goes to Goodwill herself to buy 50-cent books for the program. She is passionate about teaching children to love to read.

Other schools in the area also have summer book programs, including Westside and Parkwood elementary schools. Those schools also deliver books to students in their areas as well as to students in the Pearl Stephens and Lindsey elementary school districts.

The Westside and Parkwood book mobiles go out Tuesdays and Thursdays to various neighborhoods in Warner Robins.

As for Wood, the children are her driving force.

“I want to give them a legacy of literacy in their home,” she said.

To contact writer Angela Woolen, call 923-5650.