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Bookmobile offers free reading opportunities for Middletown children (video)
CLAIRE MICHALEWICZ
Published 12:00 am EDT, Thursday, June 30, 2011
The Middletown Press 6.29.11 Volunteer Victoria Alderman, 17, a rising senior at Middletown High School helps distribute free books to Plaza Drive residents Jonathan Haouchine, 9 and Alexa Rodriguez, 7 from the Middletown Schools Bookmobile Wednesday afternoon. To buy a print of this photo and more, visit <a href="http://www.middletownpress.com">www.middletownpress.com</a> less
The Middletown Press 6.29.11 Volunteer Victoria Alderman, 17, a rising senior at Middletown High School helps distribute free books to Plaza Drive residents Jonathan Haouchine, 9 and Alexa Rodriguez, 7 from ... more
Photo: TheMiddletownPress
MIDDLETOWN - Kids come running when this cheerily painted white van pulls into their neighborhood, but it isn't an ice cream truck. It's the Middletown Public Schools' bookmobile, which took its inaugural trip around Middletown on Wednesday.
Every Wednesday through Aug. 17, the van will be traveling around the city and stopping in neighborhoods to give kids a chance to pick up some free books.
"We're going where we think kids will be there," said Donna Marino, partnership coordinator at the school system. She said the bookmobile is a collaborative effort between the school administrators and the Middletown Schools Association, an umbrella group for the city's PTAs.
When the MSA was collecting books for a book drive, they realized that the schools have a courier van that isn't used much in summer, Marino said. The van was painted with the MSA's logo and filled with books.
Marino drove the van on Wednesday, but said school principals will take turns driving over the coming weeks. Some principals had helped out earlier on Wednesday, she said, including retiring Bielefield School principal Renata Lantos. Lantos, dressed up in a costume, rang doorbells in the neighborhood to see if any kids wanted books.
"Reading is the most important thing that we want to keep kids up to date with over the summer," Marino said. "If you can actually get books in the hands of children."
MSA President Stephanie Alderman said her group collected about 1,000 books for the bookmobile, but they gave away close to 300 in the first day. So they'll have enough books to give out, the bookmobile drivers will accept donations of unwanted kids' books. Donated can also be dropped off at the Board of Education office at 311 Hunting Hill Ave.
On Wednesday, the bookmobile stopped in seven different neighborhoods, and Alderman said kids took books at each stop. Most of the books were given to elementary students, though the van also has a few boxes of books for more advanced reading levels. And so parents aren't left out, the bookmobile has some nonfiction books for adults, including ones on parenting and cooking.
Alderman had her four children in tow to help distribute the books. The oldest, Victoria, who's going in 12th grade at Middletown High, said she hopes she can continue to help all summer.
"Books and kids are my favorite things," she said. She said that since she's read many of the books in the van, she's able to offer recommendations to kids who might be having trouble deciding between them.
Many of the kids who used the bookmobile said they knew it was coming, after hearing about it in school.
Olivia Haouchine, who said she's "nine, going on 10," and just finished fifth grade at Spencer School, took a Doctor Doolittle book from the van. Olivia said she reads a lot, and heard about the bookmobile from an assembly at her school.
"I like historical fiction, but our teacher in 5th grade really encouraged us to read other kinds of books," she said. Over the year, Olivia read books from other genres in the past year, including nonfiction, poetry, fantasy, horror, and "stuff like that."
Makayla Quagliaroli, 8, and her sister Makenzie, 5, came out of their house to check out the offerings in the van.
"My sister likes really reading," Makenzie said. "That's why she likes picking out books." Makenzie said that while she doesn't know how to read yet, she likes having Makayla and other family members read to her.
Eight-year-old Alexandra Zuchowicz, who's going into third grade at Spencer School, said she learned about the bookmobile in school. Alexandra took two books from the van, including one in the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne, which she said is her favorite.
"I like that they have cool adventures and there's like cute animals," she said.
This year, the schools' summer reading program aims to have all students read a book for at least 15 minutes a day. Students are expected to track their reading, and awards will be given to students and schools with the highest participation. And to keep summer reading interactive, the school system started a Wiki site that students can update with their book reviews and recommendations.
The van will be following alternate routes each Wednesday, so it can visit different areas of Middletown. For a bookmobile schedule and more information about summer reading, visit http://www.middletownschools.org/page.cfm?p=7901.
Claire Michalewicz can be reached by email at cmichalewicz@middletownpress.com. Text MIDNEWS to 22700 to get news alerts directly to your cell phone. Standard messaging and data rates apply.