Free children’s book vending machines placed in US ‘book deserts’

Airline JetBlue, Random House and author Mary Pope Osborne have placed vending machines stocked with free children’s books in Washington DC communities it calls ‘book deserts’, reports Publishing Perspectives. Under the pilot program, which is run as part of the airline’s ‘Soar with Reading’ initiative, three vending machines have been placed in different locations in Washington’s Anacostia neighbourhood, and children can take as many books as they want. JetBlue, which commissioned a study into the neighbourhood by childhood literacy expert Susan Neuman, said: ‘In the shadow of our nation’s capital, in 2015, there is access to only one age-appropriate book for every 830 children.’ In addition to the vending machines, the program also runs an SMS campaign with reading tips and vending machine book selections.

Category: International news Junior