Palm Harbor families still have time to get free books into their children's hands before the Summer Book Bus wraps up Thursday, July 23.

The program, now in its ninth year, is a joint effort between the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County and Pinellas County Schools. Two converted buses — seats removed, replaced with row after row of bookshelves — are making 85 stops across the county over three weeks, distributing 10,000 books to more than 5,000 children. Each child who boards picks two free books to take home.

Two Palm Harbor stops have already come and gone: the Palm Harbor Museum on July 6 and the East Lake Community Library on July 9. No Dunedin-specific stop appears on the 2026 schedule, but the buses continue at locations in Clearwater, Largo, Tarpon Springs and other Pinellas communities through July 23. The full schedule with dates, times and addresses is posted at JWBPinellas.org/READ.

Program organizers cite University of Florida research showing children can lose significant reading ground over the summer, which is why the Book Bus is part of a broader initiative called Early Readers, Future Leaders: Pinellas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. The campaign's goal is getting every local child reading proficiently by third grade.

Brianna Ray, JWB's community collaborations coordinator, said the program is built around access and excitement.

"They get on and see that there are absolutely no seats. There are only books, and they're really excited to be able to pick out their own books," Ray told Fox 13. "There's always lots of laughs, lots of smiles."

Ray said the goal is helping children build personal libraries during the months when structured reading drops off. The buses have drawn support from community leaders, including St. Petersburg police Chief Anthony Holloway, who joined a stop July 8.

Some stops on the schedule double as Meal Mobile distribution sites, meaning children can pick up a meal alongside their books. The program runs Monday through Thursday each week through July 23.