At Ridgefield’s First Saturday event last weekend, the walkways at two of the city’s parks were lined with bright pictures taken from the pages of popular children’s books. As children and parents walked slowly along the path, they read each page and pointed at pictures. These pages are part of the StoryWalks program that was designed to transform reading from a sedentary and solitary activity into an active and dynamic event.
These StoryWalks were made possible thanks to a partnership between two Ridgefield elementary schools and Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries (FVRL). Union Ridge Elementary School librarian Jubilee Roth heard about StoryWalks in an innovative lessons group, and she knew instantly it would be a good fit for Ridgefield students. Roth and South Ridge Elementary School librarian Emily Crawford worked together to create their own StoryWalks last year. The students were excited about the “new” way to read; even students who typically didn’t like to read loved walking along the paths to discuss the stories.
The idea was such a hit with the young students that the librarians thought it might work well with a wider audience. So they brought the idea to Ridgefield Community Librarian Sean Mcgill, and he was equally enthused. The schools and FVRL offered to bring stories to two Ridgefield parks for the city’s First Saturday event in May. In Davis Park, they posted pages from “The Bear Ate Your Sandwich” by Julia Sarcone-Roach, and in Overlook Park, they brought “The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read” by Rita Hubbard.
All morning and afternoon, even with rain coming down, children and parents enjoyed walking along the paths to read the stories together. They paused at each colorful page, making a slow trek around the brightly ribboned Maypole in Overlook Park to learn how Mary Walker, who had been born into slavery, learned to read at the age of 116, proving that you are never too old to learn. And around the play structures in Davis Park, children delighted in the story of a bear who is accidentally transported to a big city and finds a sandwich on a park bench—or maybe not.
StoryWalks were originally developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library; they have been installed in locations all over the world. Now Ridgefield, Washington can be added to the list. The StoryWalks were a great success, and the librarians hope to bring more StoryWalks to the schools and the city in the future. So if you see a path lined with laminated pages, slow down to enjoy a fun walk—and a good book.