On the first Tuesday of each month, Bastrop County Cares heads out to Stony Point Park, a public space on the western edge of Bastrop County where it meets Travis County.
The team quickly gets everything set up: a table with pizza, fruit, and drinks; another with clothing like pants, shirts, blouses, and shoes; and a resource table with applications and someone available to help families complete them. The recreation crew brings the Rec Van filled with outdoor games, soccer balls, and footballs. One of the best parts of the day is when families stop by to say hello and share how glad they are to see the team again.
During this particular visit, the resource van was set up as usual. A little boy arrived with his cousin, and a team member pulled out four books, two for each of them. Stickers were added that read, “This book belongs to:”, giving the children a way to claim the books as their own. When the children returned to the bench where the books were waiting, the cousin quickly chose her selections. The boy, however, seemed less interested. He stayed on his phone, sliding the books back and forth across the bench. Still, he kept glancing at them.
A team member gently asked, “Which title looks interesting?”
“I don’t know,” the boy replied. “What are they about?”
One of the books was about a talking dog, and that small detail was enough to spark his curiosity.
He slowly set his phone down, picked up the book, and began reading the first page quietly to himself. Soon, he was reading aloud and sharing what he thought the story meant. Questions were exchanged, pages were read together, and guesses were made about what might happen next in the story. Eventually, the boy ran off to play. The book wasn’t finished, but that was okay. He left his phone and books behind, asking the team member to keep them safe. At the end of the event, he returned for a few more stickers and proudly carried his books home.
It may have seemed like a small moment, but moments like these are at the heart of the work Bastrop County Cares does. Literacy is not just about tests or reading levels, it’s about curiosity, confidence, and the simple joy of sharing a story.
Sometimes all it takes is a little patience, encouragement, and the opportunity to explore a book. When children feel supported and seen, even a reluctant reader can discover the joy of reading. This is what family literacy looks like: adults showing up, listening, and creating spaces where children can discover the love of reading, not for a grade or a test, but for the joy of it.
