In Which Generosity and Books Make a Powerful Team
by Matthew
April 26, 2022

These boxes contain 222 hardcover copies of Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom.

They will be donated to the 2nd-5th graders of HH Garnet Elementary School this coming Friday when Robbi and I visit the school to talk about our books and how we work together to make them.

The books were funded by a generous donation from the Friends of the Kent County Public Library. Many thanks thanks to Judi OBrien, Cynthia Saunders, and others for creating this opportunity for kids in our community to connect with books and the related benefits.

The pre K-1st graders will be getting a copy of either Everywhere, Wonder or Babies Ruin Everything, made possible by Garnet’s Title I funding.

We can’t wait to spend the day at Garnet. As much as we love making our books, they’re mostly just a good excuse to go into schools and connect with students and teachers.

The magic happens when books get read, sparking excitement and creating momentum for writing and drawing and storytelling.

That’s what this pile of books will hopefully do. Thanks to everyone who helped make this giveaway possible.

1 Comment

  1. Yay!

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Recently:

The Busload of Books Tour is a year-long project to promote literacy and raise awareness of the challenges facing our nation’s public schools.

Author/illustrator duo Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr (that’s us) and our four kids will spend the 2022-2023 school year traveling the country in a school bus/tiny home, visiting Title I schools in all 50 states (plus DC), and giving away 25,000 hardcover books to students and teachers from underserved communities.

As we travel, we will be blogging, vlogging and posting frequently to social media. All of our content will be appropriate for bringing families and students along on our ultimate road trip.

The latest on Instagram:

The Daily Minute: 9.30.23
In which Robbi has loved her best life and we are one child shy of liberation.
...

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The Daily Minute: 9.29.23
In which the bus is heading to Cox Diesel Repair and Fabrication for a tuneup.

#busloadofbooks
...

39 1

According to Goji, it’s Bring Your Dog to Work Day. He’s trying so hard, but his stories are dull, with tedious descriptions of sniffing and snorting, endless dull stretches of napping, and inevitably concluding with the protagonist consuming large bowls of tasteless brown nuggets with reckless disregard for common politeness or personal well-being. Also, he’s terrible at typing. ...

61 3

The Daily Minute: 9.18.23
In which Robbi is sized up by her secret admirer.
...

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Whoever you are, take your seat on the bus!

Our adventure is your adventure. Our country is your country, too. Follow along with us!