Metejoor reads from Shhh! This is not a book by Kim Crabeels
Inside JEF’s brightly coloured inflatable cinema—about the size of a standard bouncy castle—groups of around 25 children take turns enjoying the event. During the 30-minute session, they watch two specially curated videos tailored for children in their final kindergarten year through to second grade. While the focus is on fostering a love of reading, the experience is also designed to be a fun and engaging cinema outing.

Students are treated to the short animated film Kayak, followed by the first Flemish episode of Bollebozen Boekenbende. These imaginative videos from Bollebozen are designed to increase reading enjoyment and support children’s language development. In the first Flemish episode, singer Metejoor takes children on an imaginary journey through a library as he reads from Kim Crabeels’ book in a vibrant, colorful setting.

“With a shared mission to give all children equal access to culture and education, Bollebozen and JEF are joining forces,” says Bram Vromans, Country Lead of bol Belgium.
“JEF developed the mobile inflatable cinema, and Bollebozen creates educational online videos based on children’s books. By combining these initiatives, we can reach even more schools in the years to come. This way, we offer children low-threshold access to culture, film, and the Bollebozen program. Our Bollebozen initiatives currently reach around 800,000 children annually in Belgium and the Netherlands.”

Inflatable cinema on tour
Over the next few weeks, the cinema will visit ten schools in Brussels, Antwerp, Ostend, Roeselare, Genk, Wuustwezel, Beringen, Lokeren, and Zaventem—many of which serve student populations with limited access to cultural activities. In total, more than 1,300 children will enjoy this special event. Kindcentrum Drakena in Ghent had the honour of hosting the very first screening today. Around eighty children from the final kindergarten year, first, and second grades attended the session. Former Ketnet presenter Sarah Mouhamou guided the event and brought added excitement to the children’s experience.

“The children absolutely loved the inflatable cinema,” said Annelies Steenacker, head of Kindcentrum Drakena.
“The video featuring Metejoor showed all our children—regardless of their background—how fun stories can be. Our school already focuses on storytelling and reading, but an event like this is something truly special.”

“Nothing is more magical than a child completely immersed in a story,” said Sarah Mouhamou.
“Books and films spark imagination and open up worlds you’d never otherwise visit. That’s something I wish for every child. Diving into a story, empathizing, laughing, learning—that’s the joy of reading. I’m happy to help spark that joy.”

Bollebozen Boekenbende
The touring inflatable cinema, in collaboration with JEF, is the latest initiative by Bollebozen. Originally founded as an online bookstore, bol now actively promotes equal opportunities for children in Belgium and the Netherlands through this program. Bollebozen organizes various reading-focused events each year, especially aimed at children who may not have easy access to books at home. Strong reading skills are closely linked to equal opportunity; children who struggle with reading often face disadvantages at school and later in life (source: Stichting Lezen). Last year, Bollebozen distributed nearly half a million books to schools in Belgium and the Netherlands. With the Bollebozen Boekenbende on YouTube , bol continues to invest in interactive videos that spark children’s love for reading.