SCHOOL AND LIBRARY VISITS
Story time arrives on wheels
The Zou Zou Media House Bookmobile pulls up to your school or branch, folds open into a stage, and turns a reading period into the thing students talk about for weeks. Author-led, curriculum-aligned, and delivered by the person who wrote the book.
Aligned, and documented for your planning.
Visits directly support Ontario Language expectations in Reading for Meaning, Writing for a Purpose and Oral Communication.
Follow-up activity sheets, matched to grade-level expectations, are provided with every visit at no cost.
A craft or activity lesson plan your staff can run the following week.
Learning goals and a facilitator biography supplied in advance for your posting or approval requirements.
Culturally responsive by design. The books centre children who are rarely on the cover, so more of your students see themselves in the story.
WHAT A VISIT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE
Ninety minutes, four parts, no dead air.
This is the Grades K to 6 running order. Every element can be swapped, shortened or dropped to fit your block. Sessions run 45, 60 or 90 minutes, in person or virtually.
Live read-aloud
25 MIN
Interactive storytelling with voices, props and crowd participation. Students don't sit and listen politely. They answer, predict and shout it out.
Dance and movement
25 MIN
A high-energy break led by our team, with African-Caribbean-inspired movement. Doubles as a brain break in the middle of a long block.
Writing workshop or arts and crafts
40 TO 45 MIN
Students create their own story, drawing or comic strip inspired by what they just heard. All materials and prompts are supplied. This is where the comprehension work happens, with their hands.
Questions for the author
5 TO 10 MIN
Students ask what they want and hear what it actually takes to write a book. For many of them it is the first time they have met a writer, and it is the part teachers tell us about afterwards.
PROGRAM
Four ways to book us.
Program 01 · Grades K to 6
Stories That Move Us
Our flagship visit. Read-aloud, movement, making and questions, in the running order above.
Four autographed books for your library or classroom
Craft or activity lesson plan included
Follow-up activity sheets at no cost
BEST FOR
Literacy week · Spirit days
In-school field trips
Arts integration
Program 02 · Grades 6 to 12
Speak Loud. Move Proud.
Built for older students, who need to be spoken to rather than performed at. A guest speaker or spoken word artist from our roster, or bring in your own.
Topics include creative writing and self-expression, identity and storytelling, literacy and activism, and careers in the arts.
Curated dance set with soul, reggae and hip hop
Add on panel discussions, roundtables or book giveaways
BEST FOR
Heritage and cultural months
End of term · Student life
Writing clubs and newspapers
Program 03 · Grades K to 8
Summer and Day Camps
The same structure, adapted for camp weeks and mixed age groups in a gym, a park or a shared multipurpose room.
Works outdoors with the Bookmobile parked on site
Families can buy autographed copies at $20 each, tax included
Mixed ages handled in two streams
BEST FOR
Summer camp weeks
PA day camps
March break programming
Program 04 · Series
The Chapter 3 Series
Three visits across the year rather than one. Different grades, different books, different local authors, at one school.
A single visit is an event. Three build a reading culture
Repeat visits featuring stories by local authors
Priced as a package, so the third visit costs you less than the first
BEST FOR
Whole school literacy plans
Board or family of schools
Multi-grade coverage
BUILD YOUR OWN
Or assemble the visit yourself.
60 OR 90 MINUTES
IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL
BOOKMOBILE OPTIONAL
Choose any combination of the following and we will build the running order around your block.
Interactive read-aloud: from $399
Dynamic and interactive read-aloud
Behind the scenes of writing and publishing: Q&A.
Visual arts session: from $699
Follow-up activity sheets
Arts and crafts that tie into the message of the book; includes up to 20.
Music: from $799
Interactive drumming
Live DJ
Spoken word: from $599
Award-winning motivational speaker
Award-winning poet laureate
Movement: from $499
African-carribean inspired dance
Zumba
Poetry and motivational speaking
Award-winning motivational speaker
Award-winning poet laureate (request a quote).
WHAT WE BRING, WHAT YOU PROVIDE
Your staff prepare nothing.
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We arrive with
The facilitator, the books, every craft material including scissors, the sound equipment, the activity sheets and the lesson plan. Setup and cleanup are ours.
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We need from you
A room or gym, access to power, glue and markers, and a staff member present with the students. If the Bookmobile is coming, a flat parking area roughly the size of two spaces.
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Group sizes
We run single classes, whole divisions and full assemblies. Tell us the number and the grades and we will tell you honestly what will work in your space.
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Booking window
Four to six weeks of notice is comfortable. Literacy week, Black History Month and June book earliest, so contact us well ahead for those.
RATES
Straightforward pricing, and ways to lower it.
School and library visits start at $999 for a 60-minute session.
The rate depends on the program, session length, number of groups, and whether the Bookmobile is on site.
Book with other schools in your region on the same day and save 15% per school.
The Chapter 3 Series is priced as a package. We will visit your school 3 times in a calendar school year. Save 25% on this package.
Autographed books are $25 per cop plus tax. When purchased at the time of our activation, books are discounted to $20 per copy with tax included.
A travel fee of $0.85 per kilometre applies for round trips beyond the Greater Toronto Area.
Email us and we will send the full rate sheet and our available dates within one business day.
QUESTION WE GET ASKED
Before you email.
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We serve the Greater Toronto Area as standard and book across Ontario, into other provinces and internationally on request. A travel fee of $0.85 per kilometre applies to round trips beyond the GTA.
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For outdoor visits and Bookmobile bookings we monitor the forecast and will contact you if conditions look unsafe. Rescheduling is free and the decision is yours.
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Yes. Every program runs indoors as a classroom, library or assembly visit. The Bookmobile is an option, not a requirement.
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Yes. Branch programming, March break and summer reading clubs, and family literacy events are all regular bookings for us.
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Yes. Certificates of insurance and vulnerable sector screening records are provided on request for your board or municipality's procurement file.
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Sessions are led by Valene Campbell, the author of The Amazing Zoe series, or a requested author within our network. The program is also supported by our facilitation team for movement, drumming, and larger groups.
BOOKING
Tell us the grades and the date.
Send us the grade levels, roughly how many students, your preferred dates and whether you would like the Bookmobile on site. We will reply within one business day with the rate sheet, a sample running order and the dates we have open.