(Photo credit: CFJC Today).

By Stephanie Swensrude

SUMMER LITERACY

Bright Red Book Bus encourages summer reading

Jul 6, 2022 | 4:17 PM

KAMLOOPS — A familiar sight is back on the Kamloops summer streets: the Bright Red Book Bus, and the literacy coaches who help kids pick out their next favourite book.

“They’re reading something that they can read, to better themselves and their education, and it’s something that they’re interested in, too,” said coach Hanna Spencer.

“By keeping kids interested in the books that they’re reading, they’re likely to read more,” said Spencer.

Spencer, a K-to-Grade 6 teacher, says kids who don’t read through summer can fall behind by up to three months.

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“If kids are reading through the summer every day, every other day even, it really helps so that they can keep progressing through their education,” said Spencer.

“[It] helps us teachers, helps everyone in the school faculty, and it keeps the kids successful and excited about school.”

Kids can keep the books they pick up, and they can come back for a free book every week.

“Some kids don’t have access. For them, they always feel like they have to exchange or give back, but for them to know that that’s theirs, even if its just one… it’s kind of special to them,” said Coach Liesl Milovick.

“It could be their first book, for example, and they have a memory of the Bright Red Book Bus.”

Jay Hancock told CFJC Today he has a lot of fun visiting the bus each week. This time, he got one instalment of the Bones graphic novel series.

“I want to collect the whole set for my brother,” he said.