Written by Chad Dally
The Marathon County Public Library and the Wausau and Marathon County Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department have teamed up this spring for a unique program to offer stories in small pieces across 2 city parks.
“Trail Tales,” which began with an April 21, 2018, kickoff party and runs through May 31, gives families the opportunity to walk through 2 city parks while reading the pages of 2 children’s books!
Library staff have copied all the book pages and laminated them, while Parks staff mounted all the pages on posts to be spread out across the parks.
At the Alexander Airport Park on Wausau’s southeast side, families can walk while reading the book Where Do Jet Planes Sleep at Night? written by Brianna Caplan Sayres and illustrated by Christian Slade.
Not too far away, at Wausau’s Memorial Park, the public can walk through a portion of the 23-acre park while enjoying Julia Donaldson’s book Superworm, illustrated by Axel Scheffler.
While the Parks Department and Library have worked together in the past — such as partnering for the Free Pool Day, when a library card is good for free entry to any of Wausau’s 3 pools — this is the first time they’ve teamed up for such an interactive event.
(Trail Tales is, however, similar in concept to StoryWalk, an event previously put together by Library staff and the staff and volunteers at Monk Botanical Gardens in Wausau.)
Taylor Weinfurter, MCPL librarian, said working with the Parks Department is a natural fit:
“We’re really happy about this [program] because it’s great that we get to work with Parks, and both departments can promote their own goals — exercise and enjoying the parks, and reading at the same time.”
Although a kickoff party for Trail Tales was held April 21, a late-season snowstorm that covered Central Wisconsin has delayed the installation of the Trail Tales posts. Please check the Library’s Trail Tales page for updates on when the Trail Tales posts and storybook pages have been installed.
Happy Trails to you…!
Chad Dally
Library Specialist | Marathon County Public Library
Chad Dally is a library specialist with the Marathon County Public Library, where he’s worked since 2012. He splits his time at the library between reference and programming, and generally prefers to read nonfiction over fiction. He’s heard chickens are smart, but the small brood he keeps at home provides evidence to the contrary. Email Chad Dally
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