<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4bLB5F_0wFl870K00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4bLB5F_0wFl870K00" width="360" height="481" ><figcaption>Messenger photos by Dedra Cordle Cassie Smith, youth services coordinator at Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library, reads to children on the new storybook trail at Westwood Park in West Jefferson.</figcaption></figure>(Posted Oct. 21, 2024)Imagine walking on a trail and you come upon a page from a children’s book encased in a glass frame sitting atop a wooden post.“That’s interesting, albeit a little strange,” you might think as you continue on your way.But a little further down the path, you find another page of the book presented the same way as the last one. And then you find another. Before you know it, you are following this trail of words and illustrations like bread crumbs, swept away by the adventure of it all until the book reaches its conclusion.This is a storybook trail, designed to be a fun, educational activity that promotes adventure, literacy, physical fitness, and a thirst to explore the great outdoors. Over the last several years, these trails have been popping up all over the state and country in state parks, city parks, and neighborhood parks. One of the newest storybook trails can be found at Westwood Memorial Park in West Jefferson.Establishing a storybook trail in the community was the brainchild of Sarah Finneran, a West Jefferson resident and vice president of the Friends of Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library. She said inspiration struck last year when she and her family were walking through the storybook trail at Deer Creek State Park near Mount Sterling, thoroughly enjoying their time together with this shared activity.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1I1rHJ_0wFl870K00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1I1rHJ_0wFl870K00" width="360" height="270" ><figcaption>“Flora’s Very Windy Day” by Jeanne Birdsall is the first book to be featured on Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library’s new storybook trail at Westwood Park. The story unfolds across 18 weatherproof stations.</figcaption></figure>“I looked at my husband (Josiah) and said West Jefferson could easily have one of these,” she said. “It turned out that it wasn’t as easy as I had thought it would be, but that was what initially spurred the conversation with the Friends of the Library and the library director (Chris Siscoe).”When Finneran eventually brought the idea of building a permanent storybook trail to her fellow Friends, they were all on board, especially President Deb Palatas.As a frequent visitor to the Dawes Arboretum in Licking County, Palatas said one of her favorite features there is the storybook trail. She said she loves bringing her grandchildren with her to walk the trail, explore nature, and have discussions on the featured book.“I think what makes a storybook trail so wonderful is that it makes reading accessible to children,” Palatas said. “They don’t have to read the whole thing all at once because they can always come back and pick up where they left off. In some ways, I think of these storybook trails as an extension of the library and all of the great things it does for our children and the community. Needless to say, but I was completely in favor of this brilliant idea from Sarah.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1osyhr_0wFl870K00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1osyhr_0wFl870K00" width="468" height="377" ><figcaption>Children race to the next station of the Westwood Park storybook trail. The trail starts near the park’s main entrance by the parking lot and ends by the obstacle course.</figcaption></figure>One of the challenges the Friends encountered in bringing this idea to reality was finances. The project cost several thousand dollars.“It was one of our most ambitious projects,” Finneran stated.When the community learned the Friends were undertaking the storybook trail effort, they rallied behind the group, snatching up books and sweets at book and bake sales, buying pizzas and subs at Flyer’s during fundraising events, and pitching in a few dollars here and there for the project.The Friends ended up collecting $4,000 through community fundraising efforts, a $3,000 workmanship donation from Nicholson Builders, and a $1,000 maintenance grant from Walmart. They also secured approval from the West Jefferson village council to install the storybook trail around the new walking path at Westwood Memorial Park. And on Oct. 12, nearly one-and-a-half years from the time the idea was initially discussed, they held a grand opening.“It has taken a village to put this together, literally,” said Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library Director Chris Siscoe.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0t3ADg_0wFl870K00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0t3ADg_0wFl870K00" width="468" height="258" ><figcaption>Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 12 at Westwood Park to celebrate the grand opening of the first storybook trail in the village of West Jefferson.</figcaption></figure>Nearly a dozen children and families came out for the ribbon-cutting, eager and excited to see the new feature in their neighborhood park. Although there was plenty of temptation around with the park playground and obstacle course, the children were singularly focused on those pages encased in glass sitting atop wooden posts. Guiding them along the way was Cassie Smith, the library’s youth services coordinator, who read aloud from “Flora’s Very Windy Day” by Jeanne Birdsall.“I don’t think this day could have gone any better,” Smith said. “We are so excited to have the storybook trail here in West Jefferson, and I hope it further encourages a love of reading, of physical activity, and interest in our library and the treasures that await there.”“Flora’s Very Windy Day” will be the featured book at the storybook trail for the remainder of the fall season. The intention is to have a new featured book quarterly, with the library announcing on their social media pages when it will be changed.Damien Jones, 5, said he was excited about the book and the new attraction at Westwood Memorial Park.“I loved it,” he stated enthusiastically while noting he wanted to “ride like the wind” like the characters in the book.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

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West Jeff’s Westwood Park home to new storybook trail

Imagine walking on a trail and you come upon a page from a children’s book encased in a glass frame sitting atop a wooden post. “That’s interesting, albeit a little strange,” you might think as you continue on your way. But a little further down the path,...