Who are we?

The Book Bus foundation is a small, UK registered charity. We believe that every child should have the right to enjoy and learn from books and reading.

We provide a mobile children’s library and book distribution service for communities in need in Zambia. Our aim is to share with children the pleasure and value that books can bring and to inspire them to want to read. We use art, music and play to stimulate children’s imaginations. By encouraging them to associate books with enjoyment and creativity, we hope to sow the seeds of a life-long love of reading that will benefit both the children and their communities.

Our Bus

The Book Bus is a Leyland Tiger, built in Britain in 1980 for use as a public service vehicle. After Tom Maschler bought the bus in 2006, we took out most of the seats and replaced them with library shelves and storage space for the books that we distribute. We also had to make the bus "Africa-proof". This involved new electrical circuits, a heavy duty pump and generator, rough terrain tyres and a tropical engine cooling system.

The most spectacular part of the refit was Quentin Blake’s decoration of the bus. Quentin is one of Britain’s best-loved children’s artists and he and Tom Maschler have worked together for many years. Quentin has been a staunch friend since we launched. His eccentric illustrations are perfect for the Book Bus and are instantly recognisable. Even in the wilds of Zambia we are often approached by people who recognise his beautiful, quirky paintings of children, books and animals.

Book Bus Images

Click the images below to enlarge.

About Tom Maschler, Founder of the Book Bus

Tom Maschler was a publisher for over four decades. While still in his twenties he ran Jonathan Cape, where he published no fewer than thirteen Nobel Prize winners. He nurtured the careers of many of the Twentieth Century's most esteemed authors, including Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ian McEwan, Doris Lessing, Joseph Heller, Roald Dahl, Bruce Chatwin, Philip Roth and Kurt Vonnegut. He also came up with the idea for the Booker Prize, now acknowledged as the most significant fiction prize in the world.

Tom has long had a love and fascination for children's books. One of his proudest achievements at Cape was to attract Roald Dahl to the publishing house. Tom was also responsible for pairing Dahl with his long-time collaborator, Quentin Blake, whose illustrations contributed so much to the author’s books.

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