(Quebec) In the parking lot in front of the Campanile school in Pointe-de-Sainte-Foy, Catherine Lapointe sets up her caravan under the first snowflakes of fall. The side sliding door and the trunk door are wide open.
The teacher placed a small children’s pool outside and filled it with books. Inside the vehicle, a dozen books are lying around on the bunk covered with a colored blanket. There are others on the kitchenette.
In total, more than 200 children’s books can be found in this mobile library.
PHOTO YAN DOUBLET, THE SUN
Westfalia 1991 is now used as a mobile library. Mission: democratize reading.
Catherine Lapointe and her husband bought a Westfalia 1991 last summer. The teacher was fulfilling a dream she had cherished for a long time. However, after a few camping trips with her family, she had the idea of giving her caravan another vocation: to democratize reading.
I wanted to combine meetings, books and the feeling of freedom evoked by Westfalia.
Catherine Lapointe, teacher
The literary caravan came to life a few weeks ago. Exit the outdoor equipment. The vehicle was filled with books and then decorated with multicolored flags and posters. The goal: to create a welcoming and stimulating place.
The success was instantaneous! From its first outing in a residential district of Quebec, in August, the literary caravan welcomed dozens of families and children.
“I told myself that no one was going to stop, because it’s not ice cream, candidly admits Mr.me The point. But soon, children on bicycles and scooters arrived. Some were in a hurry to take off their shoes to go lie down and read. ”
PHOTO YAN DOUBLET, THE SUN
Young readers quickly responded “present” to the initiative of Mr.me The point.
“Sometimes they even read with their bicycle helmets on their heads,” she says.
In the caravan, there is only one rule: to read. The children climb into the tent on the roof and they hoist the books using a pulley system. Others prefer the driver’s seat, where they sit behind the wheel to dive into the colorful pages.
The teacher is never far away to share her favorites, to define a word or to question young readers. But she swears that she is not asking for “a reading summary”.
PHOTO YAN DOUBLET, THE SUN
Thanks to her caravan, Catherine Lapointe shares with children her passion for reading outside the school walls.
The book, for me, is a meeting and it is extremely important to put children in contact with this universe in a framework that is not school. It’s just fun!
Catherine Lapointe, teacher
Since the end of the holidays, the literary caravan has been deployed about ten times in neighborhood schools as well as in public places. The ephemeral library is dependent on the weather and the inevitable mechanical problems imposed by a Westfalia 1991. On each trip, however, the teacher returns with a book, a carpet or chairs, objects offered by passers-by to enhance the volunteer project. .
“I even received a transfer of $ 40 from a lady after meeting her in a park,” she says. She wanted to pay me for gasoline for the trailer. “
A collection to be published
The literary caravan will soon take a break for a few months. The little winter boots piling up in front of the old vehicle are a sign that it must be stored soon. When it returns to service in the spring, a new album will be added to its shelves. It will be written by the driver.
In her first book, Catherine Lapointe recounts the initiative of her students who, after reading a children’s album, had the idea of offering bread to the homeless.
“That book was powerful enough to put them into action,” she says.
Illustrated by Olivier Chéné, Friends will be published in a few weeks by Éditions D’Eux.
Follow the caravan Watch the video “The Literary Caravan”