The Book Bus and How a Retired Teacher Lives Her Dream

Cincinnati's Melanie Moore retired in 2017 after twenty-five years in the classroom, and decided that it was finally time for her to open up her very own bookstore. Soon after, reality slapped her in the face, and Moore figured out pretty quickly that high rents and other overhead made it just about impossible for her to get a new bookstore off the ground all on her own.

That's when she remembered her husband's 1962 Volkswagon Transporter. As Rachel Kramer Bussel reports in a recent Forbes article, instead of renting a brick and mortar location,Moore decided to invest $5,000 in vehicle repairs and refurbishment, books, other merchandise, and licenses - and The Book Bus was born.

From the Forbes article:

While the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that Moore can’t sell books at public events for the time being, she’s pivoted her business, selling books online via Bookshop and audiobooks via Libro.fm, hosting a book club on Zoom she began in January, and renting out the bus for photo shoots and birthday parties. When she does bring books to sell at parties, she practices social distancing and uses contactless methods of payment, though 95% of her sales are happening online.

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Using her business’s sales to fuel children’s literacy is part of Moore’s mission. “I have a passion for getting books into the hands of kids who need them most. I take all my profits and buy new children’s books for schools and organizations to help build their libraries. Every child should be given the opportunity to experience the joy of reading for themselves,” she said.

The entire Forbes article can be read here.