I'll say it - I get jaded sometimes.  And then I come across stories that inspire me, and I'm a wide-eyed optimist again. The story of how BookEnds started always inspires me, but just today I came across another inspirational tale of someone who stopped to think for a moment and ended up, well doing something miraculous.   

Elementary school bus driver Ted Chaudoir cleaned out books from his daughter's old bedroom.  Although his wife said to donate the 80 books to Goodwill, he figured he'd see if the kids on his bus might be interested in them.  He told students that if they liked a book, they could take it home with them.  In 2 months, all the books were gone!

Ted's thoughtful act came to the attention of a reading specialist, and together they worked on rounding up more books for Ted's bus, and then expanding this program to all 16 bus drivers in the school district! 

Now, he's also got middle and high schooler's reading to the younger kids on his bus route.  The benefits to all are deep and far-reaching.

Sometimes, solutions to problems need to be complicated and dense.  But sometimes, a good, simple idea trumps all and is the very best solution there is.  Read more about Ted here. 

Gayle Baigelman
BookEnds Associate Director