Manchester Community Library to Unveil New Storywalk with Special Story Time Event

MANCHESTER, VT – The Manchester Community Library is taking Story Time into the great outdoors. On Tuesday, May 6th at 10:30 am the Youth Services Department is holding a special outdoor Story Time to help unveil the Library’s new StoryWalk. Participants will meet Youth Librarian Carson Schafer outside the Library entrance and walk the StoryWalk together. Children in attendance get to help unwrap and reveal each part of the story as it progresses.

A StoryWalk® is a book whose pages have been taken out and presented page by page along a path for passers-by to read and discuss as they enjoy the outdoors. The concept was originally created in 2007 by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT, in collaboration with former staff member Rachel Senechal, and is a registered service mark of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library.

The Manchester Community Library’s new Storywalk is a permanent structure built on library property. Display panels each holding a two-page spread extend from the Library’s entrance up the gravel path to the Main St. crosswalk. The inaugural book for display is titled Tools Rule! By Aaron Meshon, chosen in honor of the volunteer carpenters, David Quesnel and Ken Dillihay, who dug, hammered, sawed, and nailed to make the Storywalk possible. Tools Rule! will remain on display until August, when another book will take its place.

“The Storywalk allows little ones to build vocabulary and literacy while doing what they love most – moving around,” says Carson Schafer, MCL Youth Services Librarian. Families are encouraged to stop at each panel, read, explore the illustrations, and discuss what might happen next on their way to the following page. “We are incredibly grateful for the help and support of Library volunteers Dave Quesnel and Ken Dillihay, without whom the StoryWalk installation would not have been possible.”

Registration is not required for this event. On May 6th at 10:30 am, participants will meet the Youth Librarian outside the Library’s front doors to unveil the Storywalk, and then finish the event in the Hunter Community Room with some sweet treats. In case of rain, the StoryWalk Story Time will take place on the following Tuesday, May 13th.

For more information, stop by the Library at 138 Cemetery Ave, Manchester Center, VT, or visit mclvt.org.