Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr rolled into North Pike Elementary School in an almost cartoonish-looking school bus that resembles the illustrations of the couple’s children’s books, with their four kids and dogs in tow Tuesday morning.
The author and illustrator of picture books and novels geared toward elementary and middle school students visited the school as part of their mission to give away 25,000 books across the country this school year.
“They are filled with so much love, and I’m so excited to have them here,” said school librarian Becky Neiman, who organized the couple’s visit.
The family travels in its tiny-home school bus to spotlight the efforts of educators who work with limited resources to encourage reading, creativity and collaboration in children.
The Busload of Books partners with an organization called First Book to select schools — particularly in low-income and rural areas — for the tour.
The Build-A-Bear Foundation has donated 20,000 teddy bears to Title I schools like North Pike, and Swanson and Behr prioritized communities where their visits would make the biggest impact.
Kindergarten students and first-graders participated in an assembly where Swanson and Behr talked through the process of creating their book, “Everywhere, Wonder.” They then read through the book, displaying animated visuals on a screen.
“Everywhere, Wonder” is about the imagination of a young boy who explores everything. The book aims to inspire children to discover, to dream and to share.
Once they were done, Swanson and Behr asked the children who had been interacting with them to call out things they have dreamed about or read about in a book that makes them feel good.
The children gave multiple answers while Behr drew them on transparency paper and projected it to the audience.
Nieman chose a beach, and Behr drew Nieman lying on a beach with a book in hand.
The couple then drew names at random to win Build-A-Bear’s new toy, “Read Teddy,” with two first-graders winning the bears, Rylee Dunn and Montel White.
Once the assembly was over, the students then formed a line to view the beautifully decorated bus in which the Chestertown, Md., family travels.
Swanson stood next to the bus, holding their dog Dumbles for the children to pet, while Behr took time to chat and ask the children questions.
Nieman, who was wearing a permanent smile on her face that morning, said the visit made her so happy.
“They have brought so much love to this school and what they are doing is really amazing,” she said.
The previous night, the family drove their bus in Summit’s Christmas parade.
Pictures of Swanson, Behr and their kids as elves spreading joy were posted on the library door and hallway in preparation from the young students for their visit.
“The children cut their heads out and stuck them on the body of elves,” Nieman said. “It’s to show them spreading joy this Christmas.”
Contributions for the tour are welcome via the GoFundMe page:
www.gofundme.com/f/ robbimatthews-busload-ofbooks-tour.
