Baby protected by animals is theme of Castine’s new StoryWalk
Book by Passamaquoddy author and Blue Hill artist celebrates indigenous peoples’ heritage
Castine’s StoryWalk from above. The trail that combines walking and reading starts at the corner of Court and Spring streets. Photo courtesy of Witherle Memorial Library.
By staff
CASTINE–Can you walk and read a book at the same time? Yes, if you visit Castine’s StoryWalk, which has a new book along its trail.
The Wilson Museum, a StoryWalk partner, has chosen Thanks to the Animals by Allen Sockabasin for the November StoryWalk to celebrate National Native American Heritage Month in November, according to a press release. The pages of the book will be displayed at various points along the StoryWalk trail. For a video from the air of what the walk looks like, scroll down.
Sockabasin, a Passamaquoddy, was a master musician, singer, songwriter, storyteller, teacher and advocate who shared the teachings, spiritual guidance, and cultural heritage of the traditional Passamaquoddy language through his music. This year, his book Thanks to the Animals, which is illustrated by Blue Hill artist Rebecca Raye, turns 20.
Located at the corner of Court and Spring Streets, the StoryWalk consists of up to 20 locations along a groomed trail which loops back to the starting point. Each location is a page from a story. The trail is open from dawn until dusk. Stories change monthly from April until December.
In the story, Little Zoo Sap and his family are moving from their summer home on the coast to their winter home in the deep woods. After tumbling off the sled, Zoo Sap calls the forest animals. Beginning with beaver and ending with the great bald eagle, the animals rush to protect the baby and shelter him from the cold until his father returns for him.
The StoryWalk combines literacy and physical activity by displaying pages from a children’s book along a walking trail. The project has been a three-year effort by Witherle Memorial Library, the Castine Garden Club, the Adams School, the Wilson Museum and the Town of Castine. It was funded by a grant from T-Mobile.
Witherle Library has also created “Take & Make” bags as part of the StoryWalk experience. Using watercolors, children are encouraged to make their own mural using some of the animals from the story or paint and imagine their own interpretation of "thanks to the animals," the release said. The bags are available at the library front desk. Supplies are limited.
To learn more about Castine’s StoryWalk and how to use this community resource, click here.
Watch this aerial video of StoryWalk, courtesy of Witherle Memorial Library.
