Path to literacy: Let's Read 20 Book Walk now open at Marion Tallgrass Trail

A fun idea to promote reading to children and encourage families to spend some time outdoors together became a reality this week in Marion County.

The Let's Read 20 Book Walk was unveiled as part of the Marion Tallgrass Trail during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday afternoon at the trailhead on Holland Road. Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine joined officials from the Marion Public Library, Let's Read 20, the Marion County Park District, Marion Community Foundation, and other community organizations to celebrate the opening of the book walk.

"I think that storybook trails are great and I'm excited to start this today," DeWine said prior to cutting the ribbon to open the trail that features 20 stanchions that each have a portion of the book "The Hike" written by Alison Farrell. Farrell is an illustrator and author who lives in Portland, Oregon. Her biography says "she loves to ride bikes and hike."

DeWine, a longtime advocate for children's literary, shared with the crowd gathered for Monday's ceremony that seeing the excitement of her own grandchildren when they received books in the mail from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library inspired her to bring the program to Ohio.

"My 'ah ha' moment was when I was with my grandkids. They were staying with us while they're house was finished being built," she explained. "And the mail came and they got these books that I had never seen before. The books came in the mail, addressed to them with a plastic wrapper, and immediately they ripped off that wrapper - 'Read to me, read to me, grandma.' And it was just such a moment and at that time I thought, 'This is really great.' This was before the (2018 gubernatorial) election.

"Afterwards, when (her husband) Mike (DeWine) became governor, I said, 'I know what I want to do. I want every child in Ohio to have that same experience of getting that book.' I think Dolly Parton had just a brilliant idea when she not only gave books to all the children, but she addressed the books to the children. I think that makes such a difference, getting the books in the mail. I think it's just such a great program."

The Governor's Imagination Library was established in 2019 and in July 2022 transitioned to become Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Ohio. The program provides 345,000 children with books on a monthly basis, a figure that exceeds every other state involved in the program, DeWine said. More than 9 million books have been distributed since the program went statewide in 2020, she added.

Marion Public Library Youth Services Manager Whitney Mahle stressed the importance of encouraging children to read and talked about the impact it can have on their lives.

"There's a lot of people here who do a lot of work every day to get books into the hands of kids and families, because we believe that it really impacts the life of a child, the life of their family, and has a ripple effect on the community - just a lasting impact," Mahle said. "So if you've read with a child then likely you've had those moments where you see kids have an 'ah ha' moment, where they get it, where a skill or something finally connects. And being able to be a part of that, seeing that in story time (at the library) has been one of the most rewarding parts of my job.

"To be able to give kids and families the skills and the abilities to have those 'ah ha' moments at home is one of the most invaluable parts of working with literacy and working with families, and just empowering them to have those moments themselves and strengthening all those pre-literacy and literacy skills that they will need for lifelong learning."

According to a press release issued by the Marion Public Library, the "book walk combines nurturing healthy bodies as well as health minds for families wishing to initiate their 20 minutes of reading in a fun and very engaging way."The press release further notes that the "LR20 book walk will supply families with an additional community resource marrying nature, reading and fitness. The 20-stanchion book walk starts at the first informational sign near the Trailhead building and is contained within the first mile of the paved trail but does not cross Herr Road. All stanchions are placed on the north side of the trail."

While the stanchions are now permanent fixtures on the Marion Tallgrass Trail, the book can change periodically, library officials said. The book will be changed two or three times a year "in an effort to bring families back to enjoy the trail and a new story multiple times over a year," according to the library press release.

Marion Public Library Director Gary Branson described himself as a lifelong reader, noting that he inherited his love for reading from his mother and other family members.

"It is such an honor to be here today to see all of you come out to support reading and its importance," Branson said. "I will say the public library, that's our mission, that is our core. We can do all the programming we want in the world that is about learning and lifelong learning and we can certainly take all that very seriously. At the end of the day, it's reading and finding things that are going to challenge your belief system, that are going to make you think a little bit outside of your box. That's the value of a public library, being able to come together and talk with people you disagree with and try to understand."

Marion County Park District Chairman Dan Sheridan attended the ribbon cutting with his grandson, Eli. Sheridan said the district is happy to be part of the effort to promote literacy and fitness in Marion County.

"We're just very excited about it because it's one more thing that makes the trail a nice place for people to come to contribute to the literacy of kids," Sheridan said, noting that park board member and library communications manager Diane Watson was a driving force behind the project. "Thank you to everyone for helping make it possible."

The core message of Let's Read 20 is to engage children in at least 20 minutes of reading each day from birth through elementary school. According to Let's Read 20 officials, that "effort builds a foundation of literacy" because studies show "that children who are read to and have access to books are more likely to succeed in school and in life."

The Marion Community Foundation awarded Let's Read 20 a grant in the amount of $9,100 for the book walk project.

To register a child to receive books from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Ohio, go to the Marion Public Library website, www.marionlibrary.org, and click on the link to the Imagination Library.

Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Path to literacy: Book Walk now open at Marion Tallgrass Trail