Ambulance turns into Magic Book Bus as Rally to Read hits streets

Meet Monticello’s Magic Book Bus, the newest program to roll out of the community-wide Rally to Read Initiative, which aims to promote early-childhood literacy through a variety of innovative, hands-on programs spearheaded by five community action teams.

“Our greatest focus is simply having fun, connecting with families, sharing a love of literacy and getting books into kids’ hands,” said Kristin Green, principal at Eastview Education Center, and a member of the Rally to Read Magic Book Bus team.

Not really a bus at all, this unique bookmobile is actually a revamped ambulance that’s been packed with over 1,000 well-organized children’s books for every age and reading level, along with games, lawn chairs and even stuffed animals.

The collaborative effort began as the brainchild of Magic Book Bus team member Cindy Graham, a retired Monticello teacher and reading specialist who taught at Pinewood Elementary School and Eastview, and who has a passion for spreading literacy awareness.

“I always thought it would be fun to have a book bus to bring books to kids and play games, throw balls, to make learning fun,” she said. “I’ve had this vision for many years. I really wanted to reach the kids that aren’t being serviced.”

Graham’s vision gained traction when Joe Kounkel, manager of Hoglund Transportation, offered to donate one of the ambulances for sale on his lot to the cause.

“Joe Kounkel was so generous to let us use this ambulance,” she said.

Also a member of the Magic Book Bus team, Kounkel thought an ambulance would make a better choice than a school bus, given its versatility and maneuverability.

“We chose to do an ambulance because everybody can drive one, but not everybody can drive a school bus,” he said. “This way, an administrator, a teacher or a volunteer can drive it wherever it needs to go. It makes it a lot more versatile.”

After picking out a model from Hoglund back in May, with a number of ambulances to choose from, Cindy and husband Mark Graham had the pleasure of driving it to their home in Becker to be cleaned and stocked.

Mark, also a retired educator and school administrator, had no trouble hopping behind the wheel, finding it fairly easy to operate.

“It drives nice,” he said. “It’s like a smaller UHaul.”

Cindy also appreciates that it’s smaller and more intimate than a bus, while still able to seat up to seven people — leaving plenty of room for volunteers, or providing space inside where families can come hang out and read.

To help folks hear the bookmobile as it approaches, Kounkel was able to tap into the system’s Bluetooth technology, allowing music to be aired over the exterior speakers that the vehicle was already equipped with.

Another perk: the ambulance was already full of shelves and storage areas both inside and out where books, materials and other supplies could be housed.

Everything on board was donated, with Green putting out a blast to parents and teachers to donate used books, CentraCare’s Bounce Back Project donating a slew of brand-new ones and the Grahams throwing in many of their own chairs, blankets and games.

Those last items are meant to make it a more fun, engaging and connective experience.

“We’ll use the lawn chairs and blankets to sit out on the grass and read with kids, and just make connections,” Cindy said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. I think kids are gonna be really excited.”

Children will be able to keep the books they pick out, or are welcome to return and exchange them on a followup visit.

The idea, Mark said, is “to build relationships and help kids learn to love to read” by bringing books to families where they are — in familiar, comfortable community spaces, reaching out to those who may be reluctant to engage in traditional literacy activities.

“Maybe we’ll create magic here with our Magic Bus,” he said.

After spending about 10 months getting their idea off the ground, the team had a chance to see the alchemy in action last week, when the bookmobile embarked on its maiden voyage on Tuesday, June 17.

“It was a perfect start to the mission of this team,” Green said. “We ventured into the Meadows neighborhood, walked alongside the book bus for about an hour and 40 minutes, and, as we saw kids, we let them know we were giving away free books.”

The response was just what organizers were hoping for.

“Their faces lit up, as did their parents’ faces, and they happily grabbed a couple of books,” she said. “It was absolutely heartwarming.”

“That’s our reward: seeing kids’ eyes and expressions,” Mark said.

With Hoglund school bus driver Liz Wood behind the wheel and helping to spread the word beforehand, the first trip, which ran from 6:30 to after 8 p.m., drew 35 to 40 kids, from babies to high-schoolers, along with about 20 adults.

“We gave away around 65 to 70 books,” Green said. “We even had a mom hop on and find a book for herself.

“It was exactly what we hoped to do,” she continued. “In a safe, non-threatening and non-intimidating way, get books into the hands of kids who truly need them. They were thrilled and truly grateful. We all left with smiles on our faces.”

The Magic Book Bus was slated to make its second run this morning, heading to the apartments along East 7th Street and Burger King, and will continue to pop up in various locations each week throughout the summer.

“We aim to travel around the Monticello community to promote the joy of literacy,” the website says.

The exact routes are still yet to be determined, but will likely include city parks, neighborhoods and parking lots of businesses and churches.

“You have to go to areas where people are outside and will see the bookmobile, and aren’t afraid to come and check it out,” Kounkel said.

“We’re kind of open to different ideas of where it should go,” he said, explaining it might take some trial and error. “It’s kind of like an ice cream truck. If people aren’t buying ice cream, then you don’t keep going to that neighborhood. We don’t need to send the bookmobile into an area that doesn’t get well-received.”

The next step, starting Monday, is to give the exterior a makeover, with Transport Graphics of Rogers covering it in a custom-designed vinyl wrap, which will make the bookmobile look less like an ambulance and more attractive to kids.

Featuring purple, green and blue graphics, along with a cute bookworm, the Magic Book Bus will sport the Rally to Read logo on its side, along with an inclusive cultural touch that Kounkel came up with.

“I had Transport Graphics make a design that says “Rally to Read” in each of the 13 languages spoken in the district,” he said. “It’ll be in Chinese, it’ll be in Spanish. Even if you don’t know English, you can still read something on the side that’s still familiar to you.”

Other languages represented include Pashto, Burmese, Arabic, Russian, Hmong, Tagalog, Filipino, Mandingo, Mah, Liberian and Hindi, he said.

“I just think it’s so cool that we were able to convert that into all the different languages,” he said, noting it was done with help from AI.