Driving Literacy in Rural Communities

More than a decade ago, administrators at Richland County Elementary School in Olney, Illinois, noticed that many students were experiencing a marked academic “summer slide.” Looking to get kids to read when school was out of session, they launched the Big Blue Book Bus—a rolling lending library and reading room that travels to meet kids throughout the largely rural county.

Former principal Suzanne Hahn hatched the idea before retiring, and her successor, Andy Thomann, ran with it. “The main idea was to go to neighborhoods, do a read-aloud, and pass out books,” says current principal Cris Edwards. “We wanted to flood our students with literature.”

Rebuilding the Bus

A member of the local Rotary Club, Thomann got the organization to help fund the initiative. The district donated an old bus; high school vo-tech students replaced the seats with bookshelves and benches and painted its exterior sky blue. “I love that connection,” Edwards says. “It was the kids who used to be here helping the kids who are currently here.”

At the outset, the bus made scheduled stops at public parks and local businesses, but patronage started to drop off after a few summers. Today, the bus stops at least two times a week at day care centers and other locations with a built-in audience.

The Big Blue Book Bus targets public pre-K–6 readers but welcomes all patrons, including parents and children who attend parochial schools. “If a kid wants to get a book, we let them get a book,” Edwards says. A relaxed returns policy lets children keep the books they love, and Dog Man, Captain Underpants, Monarch, and Blue Stem titles are perennial favorites.

Books and Bookkeeping

The district earmarks money to buy quality children’s literature and accepts donations of money and lightly used books. “We get lots of donations, so I feel like the community sees the value,” Edwards says. Principals looking to start something similar need to “figure out how you’re going to get the money to get the bus rolling and who’s going to staff it,” including a licensed bus driver, she notes. The Big Blue Book Bus has delivered: Richland County Elementary achieved exemplary status on Illinois assessments for the first time in the 2023–2024 school year. “I feel like there are many reasons,” Edwards says. “A new core curriculum, a good intervention system, and also putting books in kids’ hands.”