On Independent Bookstore Day, the pop-up children's bookstore the Dragon Wagon will unveil its new book bus with a trip through New York State's Delaware County, the Daily Star reported.
Owners Bill Hancock and Tracey West will spend IBD taking the bus from Hancock to Stamford, with stops along the way. They will have plenty of children's books for sale, from board and picture books to YA titles, and every child who visits the Dragon Wagon will be able to choose one book to take home for free. West told the Star she chooses inventory based on children's interests, and she prioritizes titles that reflect their lives and show them new perspectives of the world.
The Dragon Wagon is built out of a 1979 Dodge B300 and features an awning base on one of its sides, dragon decals, and a purple and green paint job. Four different shops worked on it.
West and Hancock founded the Dragon Wagon in 2023 after a librarian told West, who is the author of the Dragon Masters book series, that there were no children's bookstores in all of Delaware County. They decided to go with a mobile bookstore instead of a bricks-and-mortar store so they could reach as many county residents as possible.
Last year, they set up shop at six events in Delaware County, giving away around 450 titles and selling "about as many."
Following the IBD debut, Hancock and West have seven events lined up for the summer so far.