Stories on Wheels, a mobile library and community center, reaches children in rural areas like Lakeview and Elaine, Ark., where children lack direct access to libraries. SOW features a fully cataloged library, games, arts & crafts supplies and reading area. The bus, which travels throughout Phillips County, serves more than 200 children each year — promoting literacy and providing opportunities for children to play, understand more about the world, and hear the Gospel.
SOW partners with local organizations, including Delta Fellowship Church, Kids For the Future and Head Start to connect kids and books and encourage parents to regularly read to their children. Book Buddies, a SOW program, helps kids build and decorate bookshelves, which enables them to store books at home and encourages reading at home.
“Children who are read to at home learn to read more easily, have a higher vocabulary, and are more likely to develop a love for reading than those who are not read to on a regular basis. Simply put, this cannot be done too early or too often.” — Reading is Fundamental.org
