Buchanan residents may have caught sight of the forest green van, dubbed the Little Bucks Bookmobile rambling through the streets this past week.

The rolling library made its debut at the Hills Haven trailer park on Tuesday, offering hundreds of free books for children.

Intended to bring easy access literature to youth across Buchanan, the project was spearheaded by several Ottawa Elementary school leaders, including Buchanan Mayor Brenda Hess.

Hess has long been a champion for childhood literacy. In addition to her work through Ottawa Elementary, where she serves as a reading coach, Hess implemented several little free libraries throughout the city. The book kiosks are stocked with free books.

Last year, Hess tried to garner city support to purchase one of two decommissioned Dial-A-Ride buses to be converted into a bookmobile, but the buses ended up being sold back to the state.

Friends who shared Hess’ vision did not let the project die.

Wendy Murphy, Laura Henckle, Melissa Seddon, Kari Chase and Karin Falkenstein got together and planned to surprise Hess with the donation of Falkenstein’s van, perfect for hauling around loads of books.

“I had no idea. They kind of met behind my back and they were like, ‘we are going to [get] the bookmobile,’” Hess said.

The summer months are especially important in keeping students’ reading skills sharp.

“Research shows that children lose quite a bit of reading progress over the course of the summer, because they just do not practice the skills they have learned,” Hess said. “Especially with the younger children in kindergarten to second grade, so we are trying to bridge that gap.”

Through several book drives, the bookmobile volunteers were able to collect more than 1,000 books from the Buchanan community. To help with transportation costs, the Buchanan Masonic Lodge donated $500 to the cause.

Tuesday morning at the bookmobile’s first stop, dozens of children browsed through a selection of books piled on the tables near the van.

Among those browsing the books Tuesday was 11-year-old Alexis Green. Green had picked out two books, “Charlotte’s Web” and “Tiara Time.”

“I heard about it [the bookmobile] while I was at the park and I wanted to go,” Green said.

In addition to being able to select up to three books, children also got a free healthy snack.

Seeing the project finally come to fruition after months of work left Hess feeling ecstatic.

“Books and a snack, this has got everything,” Hess said. “I was so excited. I could hardly sleep last night.”

Hills Haven was the first of five stops that the bookmobile made starting Tuesday. The Hills Haven mobile home is located in the Buchanan countryside.

Falkenstein said they made a point of stopping in locations where residents were likely to have a more difficult time transporting their children to the library.

“We wanted something that was going to be accessible,” Falkenstein said. ”Where there would be no excuse for not having a book.”

As leaders of the elementary school, the volunteers behind the project know that getting a good book is about more than being entertained for a couple of chapters. Falkenstein said by becoming practiced readers students not only learn about new topics but also about sentence structure and word choice, which can help improve their writing, too.

With the bookmobile parked in the shade nearby and several tables stacked high with books, it was clear Hess was in her element. She read with several children and passed out snacks.

“We are trying to provide free books and snacks and just have a good time,” Hess said. “We want to make sure [every child] has access to a book.”

Those interested in donating unused books to the bookmobile should call the Buchanan City Hall at (269) 695-3844.

Bookmobile schedule:

July 11 and July 25, Aug. 8 and Aug. 22

• 10 a.m. Hills Haven
• 11 a.m. Riverside
• 1 p.m. Leisure Ridge
• 2 p.m. West Winds