
Photo by Sam Chandler.
The Books in the Brook StoryWalk at Overton Park consists of 17 stations with interactive activities. Thefirst book on display was “Me ... Jane” by PatrickMcDonnell.
Gloria Repolesk liked the idea the moment she heard it.
Repolesk, who oversees the children’s department at Emmet O’Neal Library, learned about the StoryWalk concept while attending a conference.
Taking pages from a children’s picture book, framing enlarged versions of them and posting them in public parks seemed like a project that would go over well in Mountain Brook.
“It just seemed so perfect for this community, for our library and for our parks and rec,” Repolesk said.
The StoryWalk concept was created by Anne Ferguson from Montpelier, Vermont, and was developed with the help of Rachel Senechal at the local Kellogg-Hubbard Library.
Repolesk has taken the idea and run with it. In September, the Emmet O’Neal Library debuted its Books in the Brook StoryWalk at Overton Park. It features 17 stations that include framed pages and interactive activities to accompany them.
“There are a lot of studies that have come out that show reading and learning in nature actually enhances your cognitive abilities and is a really great environment for learning,” Repolesk said.
The library worked with the Mountain Brook Parks and Recreation Department to make the idea a reality. Parks and Recreation Superintendent Shanda Williams said she was a fan from the start.
“The park board was definitely on board with it when they first heard it,” Williams said. “We just had to work out the particulars and find the right location.”
Williams said they considered Irondale Furnace Trail and Cahaba River Walk as possible options. But Overton Park stood out because of its visibility.
“We wanted it to be in a place that was very accessible,” Repolesk said.
Once they selected the location, Parks and Recreation took care of the StoryWalk installation. The framed pages are affixed to small posts that are spread throughout the park. Repolesk said a grand opening event held Sept. 26 went well.
“We’ve gotten really positive feedback from it,” she said.
The StoryWalk is accessible by stroller and wheelchair and follows a path that is enclosed by a fence. Repolesk said people can read the whole story or just one frame and still get something out of the experience. Each station includes a prompt related to the content.
“We definitely wanted to try to get some open-ended questions in there and discussion questions,” Repolesk said, “because that is a really hard skill for parents and kids to learn, especially in picture books.”
According to Repolesk, the walk features 17 frames because picture books are typically 32 pages. With two pages per frame, plus one frame for a title page, the walk can accommodate most books.
The first one the library chose was called “Me ... Jane” by Patrick McDonnell. It is about primatologist Jane Goodall’s formative years.
Moving forward, Repolesk said the library plans to change the featured book every four to six weeks. Eventually, the project could expand.
“If it goes over well, we will look at adding some to other parks and trails,” Williams said.
The StoryWalk is an Emmet O’Neal initiative intended to engage the community beyond the library’s walls. The library also holds pop-up storytimes and has a presence in Mountain Brook Schools.
Overton Park is at 3020 Overton Road. For more information, visit eolib.org or call 205-879-0459.