Kids at Greenstone loved picking out cute new pencil sharpeners, and all the new Bluey books. Thanks to Lynne Herman from Jackson-Via Elementary School for coming to see her students!
The Free Book Bus
@thefreebookbus.bsky.social
The Free Book Bus gives books to help families build home libraries in central Virginia. Our first mission serves those with barriers to access, our second is reading encouragement! https://linktr.ee/freebookbus
We are really feeling the community love after today's event at Jack Brown's! You all donated 60 (!) new graphic novels, manga, & picture books from Hello Comics, many in Spanish. It was really fun to introduce new people to the bus, and I am extremely grateful for the restock. Thank you!
We have a public event tomorrow! We will be parked on the downtown mall next to Jack Brown's Beer & Burger from 3-5pm. Please come check out the bus, pick out a book, and perhaps a burger & beverage from Nepenthe Brewing Co. (more in alt text)
Greenstone stop! This was the last time for the prize table until next summer - once school starts back up, we switch to providing school supplies onboard. Thanks to teacher Lynne Herman from Jackson-Via Elementary School for coming along to see her students, and to Stephanie for facilitating.
We are extremely grateful to the Party Parade Fund of the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation for awarding the Book Bus a $5,000 grant to support those we serve through the purchase of new books, art and school supplies, and hygiene products. Thank you!
Preschoolers at A Mother’s Touch Childcare in Charlottesville loved trying out the driver’s seat, pressing ALL the buttons, and picking out books this morning. Toddlers are lots of fun on the bus, since everything is new and exciting 😊
We went back to the Piedmont Family YMCA teen/young adult camp today, and kids picked out books and prizes. The third picture is campers at a museum with their new camp mascot “Dani the Dino,” who they picked out on our first visit, and now participates in all camp activities (see photo captions)
Greenstone stop with JMRL’s Bookmobile! Kids loved picking out toys (squishy things are very popular) and books, plus, art kits made with donated materials from The Scrappy Elephant ✨🚌✨🎨📚
We are extremely grateful for $12,370 in recent community grants! These funds will help us purchase new books, art/school supplies, hygiene items, and support operational costs like diesel fuel and bus repairs. Thank you!!
OK, yes, but it was $4 at The Salvation Army and the kids are going to love it
Here’s to the beginnings of a staff-led book group for some of the boys at Liberty Point Behavioral Healthcare! They’re starting with some classic 90s Goosebumps by R.L. Stine 😊
One of the kids at Rita's Bright Beginnings greeted me with “I haven’t seen you in 10,000 months,” since it had been almost a year since my last visit 😊 These preschoolers & young elementary students enjoyed picking out books, using the pencil sharpener, & selecting a prize.
Went down to Tye River Elementary School for a visit to their enrichment and Excel programs for pre-k through 12th yesterday. Kids loved choosing 289 books to take home and the reappearance of the summer prize table 😊
We are hiring a program assistant starting in July! Job is very flexible, 5-10 hours per week. Please contact us at freebookbus@gmail or share this with someone who might be a good fit.
We are very grateful to The Bama Works Fund and Charlottesville Area Community Foundation for a $5,000 grant that will help us keep the bus stocked and on the road! It means so much that they have supported The Free Book Bus for multiple years.
Pictures from Tuesday’s stop at 6th St. with PHAR and CommunityBikes (fixing bikes at Westhaven). The last photo is the result of me ordering Tintin books without noticing it was a GIGANTIC special edition! Kids are going to love this oversized version 😊
We were happy to donate books to first graders at Greer Elementary recently! Albemarle HS student teachers Brianna T. and Beatrice O. worked with the first graders this year. Here they are saying thanks for the books 😊
Presenting: my smallest bus guest from today, Mozart, the long-haired chihuahua, who is a beloved member of the Elk Hill Staunton school community 😊 Today was my over-the-mountain day to Elk Hill, Keys Academy in Verona, and Liberty Point Behavioral Healthcare.
This family of readers took a moment this afternoon to read a Lego book together. They chose a combination of picture books and read-alouds to take home 😊
Albemarle County’s TLC post-high school program had their spring festival today, along with students from Greene County. All the kids were excited to see their friends, play games, and eat lunch outside after visiting the book bus ✨🚌✨
We were back at Greenstone today with two Jackson-Via Elementary School teachers, Ms. Herman and Ms. Sloan. The kids are always so delighted to see their teachers out and about 😊 Picture books, board books, and coloring books were popular today - many students are bilingual at this stop!
High schoolers from Albemarle County’s Newcomer Learning Community on the bus this morning. I will miss visiting these students and teachers next year, as the students and staff are moving to other schools.
The price of filling up the bus 😳 Thanks to everyone who has donated in the last year for helping us keep the bus on the road!
I loved this teen’s book selections at Albemarle County’s Trailhead Learning Center today, representing both the modern and the classic 😊
That’s a wrap for this year’s Jefferson-Madison Regional Library Friends sale, taking our literal truckload of books home to put on the bus and shelves back at book bus HQ 😊 half price day at the sale starts this Saturday!
Actual footage of me yesterday at the book sale - my reel from 2024 still applies 😊 JMRL Friends of the Library sale is on all week at Albemarle Square in Charlottesville, 10-7!
It was a triple-header today at Greenstone with Community Bikes, Jackson-Via teacher Mrs. Herman, and representatives from IRC Charlottesville! Kids enjoyed picking out books, pencils, bookmarks, getting their bikes fixed, and of course, yelling into the bus fan 😊 more pics in comments
Pre-K through 5th graders at Tye River Elementary School were excited to pick out 145 books this morning to take home! Sharks, unicorns, coloring books, and beginning reader books were popular today.
Parents joined students on the bus today at ACPS Newcomer Learning Center. Spanish, Chinese, and Farsi are a few of the languages kids speak at home, and parents enjoyed picking out books to further their English studies.
Books, bikes, and sharpening pencils were the activities today at our first spring stop at Townwood with Sin Barreras and Community Bikes ✨🚌✨
