Students clamor for books during one of the stops by the Liberty ISD Bookmobile. Students were also served a snow cone to cool them down in the hot sun.

Students clamor for books during one of the stops by the Liberty ISD Bookmobile. Students were also served a snow cone to cool them down in the hot sun.

Tom Connelly, Dusty McGee, Superintendent Dr. Cody Abshier and Robert Dunn (the general manager of BJ Ford) helped donate the money to pay for the cost of the graphics on the whimsical bookmobile.

Tom Connelly, Dusty McGee, Superintendent Dr. Cody Abshier and Robert Dunn (the general manager of BJ Ford) helped donate the money to pay for the cost of the graphics on the whimsical bookmobile.

Liberty ISD bookmobile making stops around the city

Little hands count the grape, watermelon, cherry, strawberry, and lime nozzles, yes, they're all there.

A student, inside the bus, shouts "Did someone check the ice?"

All while several straighten the books on the shelves and make ready for their first stop.

Then the adults board and there's a guy who climbs in the driver's seat, the engine cranks up and the vehicle readies for takeoff.

Making turns and thrusting forward, the vehicle slowly makes its way through the streets of Liberty.

And then, to shrills and screams of ecstasy, everyone onboard catches a glimpse of a group of students who are ready to meet the Liberty ISD Bookmobile as it pulls up and parks.

The students, standing in the parking lot, look up to see the smiling face of their superintendent, Dr. Cody Abshier.

The children climb onboard and make their way through the center aisle, scanning the offering of summer reading adventures that will take them away to a fantasy land as they cozy up alone to peruse the pages.

Abshier can't help but smile as he watches and assists the students with selections.

To complement the books they check out, each student is offered a snow cone of their own choice of flavors. Some want a little of all the sweet-flavored syrups. The icy treat hits the spot, especially in the sun-drenched days of the summer.

Then Abshier puts the bookmobile in drive and all aboard wave goodbye to the students until next week.

In years gone by, it was the superintendent as a little boy standing on the curb watching and waiting for the bookmobile to come around.

"They actually sold the books," he remembered, but the memory was etched permanently into his mind and he couldn't wait to figure out a way to do the same for Liberty children.

While the snow cones and seeing the children during the summer are fun and adventurous for Abshier and his colleagues and helpers, there's more to the trips.

Research and studies show that students who read outside of the classroom do well and advance at a faster rate of comprehension.

"We know that we want our students reading, especially during the summer time," the superintendent said, pointing to research by popular education specialist Jim Trelease.

Trelease addresses the concerns of parents who might tend to think their child would be turned off by requiring them to read a book each week.

"Do you require your child to brush his teeth every day? How about changing his underwear or making his bed? Do you worry that such requirements will eventually lead to your grown son giving up teeth-brushing and underwear changes because you 'required' it in his childhood?" Trelease asks.

He writes about a single parent who required her two sons to obtain library cards and read two books a week. Today one is an engineer and the other is a preeminent pediatric brain surgeon, Dr. Ben Carson (yes, the former candidate for president).

Trelease points out huge advantages over rival students for those students committed to summer reading.

Abshier offers his boyhood experience as a game-changer in his own life.

"It was so amazing because it looked like a virtual library on wheels," he said.

Now, he is replicating that same experience for LISD students.

Four years ago, they embarked on the journey taking an old bus and trying to make it work.

"It was primitive, but the kids still came," he said.

The books came from Scholastic Book Warehouse in Houston where the superintendent spent about $1,000 on books for the bookmobile.

"We would load up the bus with the books and when we got to the area where we were going to see children, we would put these old plastic tables across the seats and line the books so the kids could see them and make their choice," he said.

But it was a lot of work.

"It was labor intensive to put all of the books out and then pack them back up when we would leave or they would go all over the bus while we were driving to the next destination or back to the district," Abshier said.

Then Bill Buchanan of KSHN found out and discovered a real bookmobile truck.

They met at the John Deere location in Liberty and found that Mr. Foster had bought a bookmobile that was designed and built by a company as a real bookmobile. It had been taken out of commission and Foster was going to use it as a food truck. But he had a change of heart when he heard Abshier's story.

"He told me he wanted to do something for the kids of Liberty and he sold it to us for practically nothing," Abshier said.

Abshier recruited his guys at the bus barn to get to work on the air conditioner, fixed the generator and it is now fully functional.

"It has three air conditioners," he said proudly, "and the bookmobile has bookshelves and even a desk for the librarian to sit and check out books to the children.

Thus far, they have traveled to a couple of apartment complexes and a trailer park.

This year, he announced that for the first time, they were going to make return trips to some of the locations on a weekly basis.

To promote the bookmobile coming each week, Abshier said they will be placing signs in front of the neighborhood a day or so before to remind parents and students that they will be traversing their way and to watch for them.

In addition to the thirst for more books by the students, the district is placing over-sized mailboxes and attaching them to a 2 x 4 board in a five-gallon bucket of concrete.

"The kids can use them to return the books and look inside to see if there is one they may want to read," all before the bookmobile returns the next week.

Abshier said he is grateful for the help of Jo Ann Gilliland and Julie Pruett, colleagues on the campus of Liberty Elementary School.

In addition to the staff, Abshier has a group of high school and middle school students who show up an hour before the bookmobile rolls to straighten the books, make sure the syrup is ready and there's ice ready for the snow cones.

"Once we get there to the location, they basically run it," Abshier said proudly.

"We just drive the bus and it's neat that the kids want to run it all," he said.

Abshier says they average between 30-40 kids per stop, or sometimes as few as a half dozen or so.

They attract the students with an external speaker system that blares out the 'ice cream favorites' music to alert the children they are near.

"We'll make three or four real slow loops around the neighborhood to let everyone know, particularly if they're inside, that we're there and have free snow cones and books for them to pick out and read," the superintendent said.

The investment, the superintendent said, is paying off and it's a program he hopes to continue every summer.

Here's the list of locations left for the summer:

Wednesday, July 12, 2017 --- Park Place Apartments (3 p.m.)

Thursday, July 13, 2017 --- Lemelle's Sausage Company [Ames] - (12:30 p.m.)

Thursday, July 13, 2017 --- Forest Grand Apartments (3 p.m.)

Tuesday, July 18, 2017 --- San Jacinto Elementary School (10 a.m.) --- Regular Summer School

Tuesday, July 18, 2017 --- San Jacinto Elementary School (1 p.m.) --- Bilingual Summer School

Wednesday, July 19, 2017 --- Park Place Apartments (3 p.m.)

Thursday, July 20, 2017 --- Liberty City Park (12:30 p.m.)

Thursday, July 20, 2017 --- Forest Grand Apartments (3 p.m.)

Tuesday, July 25, 2017 --- San Jacinto Elementary School (10 a.m.) --- Regular Summer School

Tuesday, July 25, 2017 --- San Jacinto Elementary School (1 p.m.) --- Bilingual Summer School

Wednesday, July 26, 2017 --- Park Place Apartments (3 p.m.)

Thursday, July 27, 2017 --- Liberty Municipal Library (11 a.m.)

Thursday, July 27, 2017 --- Forest Grand Apartments (3 p.m.)

Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017 --- Mother of Mercy Catholic Church [Ames]-(12 p.m.)

Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017 --- Park Place Apartments (3 p.m.)

Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017 --- New Work Family Worship Center (11:30 a.m.)

Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017 --- Forest Grand Apartments (3 p.m.)

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Liberty ISD bookmobile making stops around the city - Houston ... - Chron.com