Alvin ISD rolls out library bus to encourage summer reading

ALVIN, TX (KTRK) -- When there's a shortage of books for kids to choose from during the summer months, a new book bus is a very big deal.

Student Chris Athey was the first to answer our questions about the project.

"How long did this take you to change a school bus into a library basically?" we asked.

"I dunno, two months," he said.

It all started with a grand idea: bring stories to kids at home during the summer through a mobile library in Alvin ISD. The school district already had a spare school bus.

Ana Pasarella, the Family Engagement Coordinator for Alvin ISD, came up with the idea of the book bus.

Pasarella said, "It is amazing because I knew it was a huge project, and I knew it would take a lot of people to make it happen."

The makeover was left up to high school students in the Career and Technical Education programs. The group transformed the bus into a real library. It is filled with hand-built wooden bookcases, drawers, carpet and air conditioning.

Student Alejandro Moreno shared, "Means a lot to me because this is going out into the community."

Many students who attend E. C. Mason Elementary School and others can't afford luxuries like books.

Student Joshua Decampos said, "I volunteered to do this because I can relate. When I was little, I didn't have much books, libraries around. I kind of just read the same book over and over again. Seeing this I feel like I'm helping people like me when I was little."

The Alvin ISD Education Foundation donated $10,000 to the book bus project. It will be rolling through 12 neighborhoods that feed into Alvin ISD schools this summer.