GoGo Books, a new mobile bookstore specializing in books for young readers, has hit the road in Newark, Del., the Newark Post Online reported.
Owner Kate Keeper has turned a former Doritos truck into a bookmobile carrying a couple thousand titles that range from board books and picture books to young adult novels, as well as some children's-focused sidelines. The bookmobile had its soft opening earlier this month.
Keeper, who left her job as a registered nurse to found GoGo Books, told Newark Post Online that she was inspired to open a bookstore of her own after visiting Stories Bookshop + Storytelling Lab in Brooklyn, N.Y., with her husband about a year ago. While they felt that they could make a bookstore work, Keeper was skeptical about the idea of a bricks-and-mortar store. After researching bookmobiles, however, Keeper decided to go for it.
She plans to host storytime and singalong sessions at the truck, and set up shop at festivals and other events in the area. She hopes to form partnerships with a variety of local businesses, and her next appearance is scheduled for May 4-5 at the Creamery of Kennett Square, across the border in Pennsylvania.
"I left my nursing job because I wanted to do what I want to do when I want to do it," Keeper said. "And this is what I hope will help me get there. I seriously just love being around books, I love being around people. I just want to be out in the community."