Walk and read: Kids might want to check out this outdoor space at the library

The Williamsburg Regional Library now has StoryWalk, a way for kids to get outside and read a book.

“Take advantage of this beautiful weather and enjoy a walk outdoors at the James City County Library’s new StoryWalk,” according to the Williamsburg Regional Library’s Facebook post. “We invite families to walk from page to page in the green space behind the library any time during the library’s open hours.”

The StoryWalk Project was actually created in Vermont but now the library in James City County will participate in the project, too.

Ben Stromhn, youth services director for the library, said the StoryWalk started at the library on Sept. 21.

“Well in terms of it being a new thing…we’d like to make it a permanent fixture,” he said, adding they plan to add a “fresh book every few weeks.”

Laurie Ziegler, the librarian, is the mastermind behind the StoryWalk Project at the regional library. She told Stromhn in an email it’s a “fun way to combine reading with getting some exercise.”

“For now, it’s pretty simple, of course–you just walk from page to page along the path beside the library and around the green space behind it,” she wrote.

The book currently on display is “Sheep Take a Hike” and the week before Halloween around Oct. 23, Ziegler will swap out the book for “The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything” by Linda Williams.

“It’s a not-so-scary story with lots of opportunities for clomping, shaking, wiggling and going ‘Boo!'” she added.

In November, children can look forward to “Gossie” by Olivier Dunrea, another book where children can “mimic the movement” in the story.

The Williamsburg Regional Library, 7770 Croaker Road, is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesdays 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

For more information about the StoryWalk project or the library, visit the library’s website here.

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