‘The Busload of Books’ Has Arrived in St. Louis

COURTESY OF BUSLOAD OF BOOKS

Robbi Behr, left, and Matthew Swanson, right, with their four kids and fellow road-trippers.

A super-colorful 24-foot school bus that’s become home to a family of six (and their dog) pulled into St. Louis yesterday. And get this: It’s filled with books that will be given free to local students.

It’s called the Busload of Books. And it exists thanks to a pair of wildly creative authors willing to put up with cramped quarters to serve less affluent kids.

Those authors are the Maryland-based author-illustrator team Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr. The pair have published a number of children’s books, including the picture book Babies Ruin Everything and middle-grade series the Real McCoys and the Cookies Chronicles.

But they'd become dismayed by the fact that affluent districts seemed to be the only ones booking them for author visits. Both grew up attending Title I schools, which serve children from low-income families. They decided to spend the 2022-23 school year visiting Title I schools in all 50 states. 

How better to make it happen than by taking the whole family on the road? Behr found an old Thomas school bus, which they renovated to include beds and a galley kitchen (no toilet — there wasn’t room). Last fall, they packed up their four kids and dog into the “Skoolie” and hit the road.

COURTESY OF BUSLOAD OF BOOKS

The Busload of Books is both a tour bus and home to a family of six.

And while Behr and Swanson initially planned to give away 25,000 books throughout their tour, they’ve since found major backing (including $152,000 via GoFundMe and a partnership with First Book, a nonprofit focused on bringing educational resources to kids in low-income communities). That's allowed them to exceed their wildest expectations — they're now on pace to give away 125,000 books.

The family arrived in Webster Groves last night, and write on Facebook that they plan to head to both Show Me St. Louis and City Museum today. They have a full itinerary that includes Ferguson’s Central Elementary and Harris-Stowe State University (in connection with the Novel Neighbor) on Tuesday. And, yes, free books should be in plentiful supply.

You can follow the tour online. Or just keep an eye out the window as you drive I-70. This busload of books should be hard to miss.