Bright Red Book Bus Celebrates its 10th Anniversary

Posted On Wednesday June 26, 2024

Story provided by Chelsea Isenor, Director of Communications and Board Administration

The Bright Red Book Bus is hitting the road again this summer to share the joy of summer reading. Throughout the last 10 summers, this memorable bus has travelled to various Kamloops schools and parks, providing high-quality, new (and gently used) books for free and encouraging parents and caregivers to read with children.

Every child who visits the bus gets to keep one free book. By increasing book access and ownership, the Bright Red Book Bus aims to minimize summer reading loss, strengthen literacy skills, and improve educational outcomes for children.

This summer, the Bright Red Book Bus celebrates its 10th Anniversary. For over 10 summers, this beloved bus has provided books and reading support for families. Parents have expressed that the Bright Red Book Bus helps their kids develop a love of reading, sharing “my littles really got into reading more than they ever have,” and “your program last year started their love of reading—they’ve been reading for fun all year!”

From July 2 to August 16, 2024, the Bright Red Book Bus will be on the road visiting various school sites and city parks. Families can visit the bus in their neighbourhoods to participate in story walks, games, activities, and more.

2024 Summer Schedule:

Day

Locations

Time

Monday

Kay Bingham Elementary

10:00 am – Noon

Westsyde Centennial Park

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Tuesday

South Sa-Hali Elementary

10:00 am – Noon

Prince Charles Park

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Wednesday

Dufferin Elementary

10:00 am – Noon

Albert McGowan Park

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Thursday

AE Perry Elementary

10:00 am – Noon

McDonald Park

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Friday

Marion Schilling Elementary

10:00 am – Noon

John Tod Centre

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

For more information and updates, see the Bright Red Book Bus Facebook page.

Launched with seed money from the local Stollery Charitable Foundation in 2014 with encouragement from Spencer and Janet Bryson of Kamloops, the Bright Red Book Bus is a community partnership, primarily between the Kamloops-Thompson School District, Literacy in Kamloops (LinK), and BGC Kamloops (formerly Boys and Girls Club of Kamloops). This literacy program is also made possible thanks to the support of funding partners, including Raise a Reader and CML Properties.

In the 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan, the Kamloops-Thompson School District is committed to supporting students to develop foundational literacy skills and to develop a passion for multi-literacies. The Bright Red Book Bus helps to promote joyful reading and interesting conversations. This successful literacy project gets kids excited about reading and promotes reading for fun. Distributing over 34,000 books since its inception, the Bright Red Book Bus has helped develop a community of young, excited readers.

Contact Us