COLUMBUS, Ind. — Youngsters and their families can now step into a story book pretty literally.
That’s part of the idea of a StoryWalk debuting at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Blackwell Park in Columbus.
To get an idea of the concept, listen to the description of Lindsey Bailey, children’s librarian at the Bartholomew County Public Library, in her recent column in The Republic: “If you’ve never heard of a StoryWalk before, imagine walking through a museum exhibit: a self-guided tour of a space, featuring signposts with new information to read every few feet or so. Now, remove the walls and materials, and replace the factual paragraphs with the pages of a picture book. This, in essence, is the StoryWalk … .”
The local creation, with a cost of about $6,000, is a team effort among the Friends of the Library, the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department, and the Reeves Foundation. The cost relates to the installation of about 20 protected book page displays of the popular children’s picture book “Extra Yarn” by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen.
Library staffers say the book appeals to a young audience ranging from 4 to 10 years old.
The opening of the local StoryWalk will be with a yarn cutting instead of a ribbon cutting to properly tie in with the book that will be highlighted. Free beverages and doughnuts will be offered to attendees, according to organizers.
“And the weather on Saturday is supposed to be perfect, so that’s in our favor,” Bailey said.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
