The Discount Books Bus brightened our rainy Somerset West morning
Today, despite the rain, we visited Discount Books’ Magical Bus, a mobile book shop that our son thoroughly enjoyed.
Today, despite the rain, we visited Discount Books’ Magical Bus, a mobile book shop that our son thoroughly enjoyed.
I had planned to take my family to see the Discount Books Bus earlier this morning, but the heavy rains across Somerset West made us wait for a gap in the clouds. By the time the three of us pulled up to Old Stellenbosch Road, right in front of Smart Foundation Station Pre-School and next to De Hoop Primary, the rain had started up again. We made a quick dash for the door and stepped inside what turned out to be a surprisingly quiet and dry escape from the weather.
From the pavement, it looks like a standard bus, but the interior has been completely gutted and reimagined as a compact, floor-to-ceiling library. It is a bit of a fairytale setting for a child. The shelves are packed with titles for all ages, though the focus is clearly on younger readers. Beyond the rows of paperbacks and hardcovers, there are stuffed toys and various playthings scattered throughout, which immediately caught our son’s attention.
While he was busy exploring the toys and what he clearly saw as a magical space, we started browsing the shelves. The collection is diverse enough to include books for adults, but the real draw is the children’s section. Since our son is currently at the stage of learning his first words and the alphabet, we spent our time looking for sturdy, engaging options that fit his current world.
The bus itself is a clever mobile extension of a much larger operation based right here in the Helderberg. Discount Books is a wholesale specialist that supplies major retail chains and independent bookstores across the country. Locally, they are known for their Somerset West warehouse and their frequent pop-up appearances at markets and shopping mall centre courts throughout the Western Cape.
This particular Book Bus is their customised solution for on-site school sales. It brings the shop directly to the pupils, and we were lucky to catch it on its final day at the Old Stellenbosch Road location.
Our visit was brief, lasting only about ten minutes before we headed back out into the rain, but it was enough to make an impression. We walked away with two new books and a very happy toddler. There is something about the novelty of a “secret” library inside a bus that appeals to a child’s imagination in a way a standard shop cannot.
By the time we were driving home, he was already singing his own version of ‘The Wheels on the Bus’:
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
round and round, round and round.
The Discount Books Bus goes round and round,
Through Cape Town, it’s quite renowned.
Today it reached Somerset West,
With stories and tales, it’s truly the best!
It is a simple, effective way to encourage reading, and seeing it parked in the middle of our local school zone made the morning’s rainy trek feel well worth the effort.
I’m a wife, mother and local publisher who traded Johannesburg and two years abroad for life in Somerset West. Through HelderbergStuff, I share lifestyle stories, local discoveries and noteworthy developments across Somerset West, Strand and Gordon’s Bay. For media and collaboration enquiries: marina@helderbergstuff.co.za
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