The Holiday Storybook Walk, now in its second year as part of the Ladysmith Festival of Lights, is fast becoming a beloved tradition. From Dec. 2 to 31 attendees can once again follow a path along First Avenue and read a holiday story for kids of all ages. At each numbered stop, they’ll find the next instalment of the story, encased in plexiglass and mounted on a holiday-themed character. Each character is illuminated so the reading route can be visited and enjoyed day or night.
The organizer and heart behind the walk is Tanya Reid, program coordinator/facilitator of the Adventures in Early Literacy program at the Ladysmith Resources Centre Association.
Reid’s involvement began when she took her young son to the Adventures in Early Literacy program at the Ladysmith Resources Centre. She asked if they needed volunteers and ended up running the program, saying she’d fill in until they found someone. That was 13 years ago.
When COVID-19 hit and in-person gatherings were cancelled, Reid got creative. She knew there had to be a way to continue this program so many families relied on.
“Within 24 hours, I came across a story walk and thought, that's what we need. That is exactly what we need,” Reid said.
She teamed up with the Ladysmith and District Credit Union, the Ladysmith Rotary, the town of Ladysmith and a small group of volunteers to create what was supposed to be a temporary storybook walk lasting 24 weeks at Brown Drive Park. That walk is still running today with Reid changing the book every two weeks all year.
What is a storybook walk?
A storybook walk is an innovative form of storytelling where a children’s book is taken apart and displayed in a way that encourages children to move from page to page. Readers begin at the start of the path, following the story from station to station, adding an interactive element to reading.
Inspired by the project's success, Reid sought ways to expand the program and engage more young readers. She was thrilled when she encountered the idea of a holiday version of a storybook walk.
“I thought, what a great thing for Ladysmith to have in December! For the first two years I displayed the pages of the book inside the windows of businesses downtown.”
Last year, the Holiday Storybook Walk moved from store windows to the street and got bigger and better. Reid and her team created a collection of 18 large-scale, plywood characters with clear holders made of plexiglass for the book pages. It was a true community effort.
“I locked my husband in the barn and he had to cut out these figures that I had traced for him. Then I took them up to the high school and the kids brought them to life.”
Ladysmith Secondary School art students got to work painting the characters, far exceeding Reid’s expectations and contributing to the holiday magic of the project.
Pacific Care Child Care Resource and Referral helped fund the construction of the characters which were made to last and will be reused this year.
That’s when some grumpy old men got involved; the Nanaimo Grumpy Old Men hockey team, that is. They made sure the characters were installed safely and would stay that way for the entire month of December.
“They weren't grumpy. And they had every right to be because it was pouring rain,” said Reid.
With the characters installed and set to hold a holiday book, Reid carefully set about selecting two books that met her standards for engaging stories to appeal to all ages.
“One of them I like to be sort of lighthearted and funny, and the other one I like to be more of a heart warmer with a sweet message,” Reid said of her selection process.
When she finally settled on last year’s two books, the community fell in love with them just as much as Reid had.
“It was really exciting and the feedback that I got from the businesses really warmed my heart. They said they'd be at work and they'd look out the window and all of a sudden there'd be 20 little rosy-faced, red noses happily reading the book.”
This year’s Holiday Storybook Walk will once again offer up two books for the community to discover.
“We’re going to swap the story on the 17th. So if you go down the first half of December, there'll be one book and the second half will be a different book,” Reid said.
Reid’s work won’t end once the story is installed. She works with the primary school to have their kindergarten class attend the storybook walk, after which they head back to the Ladysmith Resources Centre for hot chocolate and cookies. This has now become an annual walking field trip for the school.
It’s just this kind of engagement that Reid strives for. She knows there is a lot of competition right now to entertains children's minds, and it's not always books.
“My secret hope is to get these kids out and enjoying books, especially in a way that they've never potentially enjoyed books before,” she said.
But her hopes extend beyond just kids.
“I would like to inspire the reluctant readers, whether that be the children or the adults,” Reid said.
She knows not everyone grows up with a love of reading like she did. Whether due to learning difficulties that make reading challenging or books simply not being a priority for some, Reid makes it her mission to offer up the possibility to fall in love with reading by taking the pressure off and just making reading fun.
In doing so, she is carrying on a tradition from her own upbringing. Reid grew up in a family where books were a big part of their lives every week.
“We would walk down to the Nanaimo library and the rule was I could take out as many books as I wanted, as long as I could carry them.”
Her mom would then read the chosen books, using different voices for each character and bringing them to life. When she became a parent herself, Reid did the same with her son before taking on her role at Ladysmith Resources Centre and bringing books to life for hundreds of Ladysmith kids beyond her own family.
Asked why she feels it’s so vital, especially right now, to get people reading, Reid said, “I think I've always just had such a reverence for books and it does make me sad when I see kids with cell phones or electronic devices instead of books. And we're definitely learning it's having an effect on their brains. So, I just feel like I'm doing what I can to encourage the love of books in what I hope is a unique and creative way.”
The joyful feedback from kids and adults alike suggests Reid's efforts are having a meaningful impact. She hopes to keep the tradition of the Holiday Storybook Walk as part of the Festival of Lights for many years — and many books — to come. When asked what inspires her to continue building this literary tradition, Reid answered without hesitation.
“Because I love to bring joy to the community. It's really just as simple as that. It fills my heart to see people enjoying a book. And the feedback that I get tells me that we need to keep doing this.”
Experience the magic of a winter reading wonderland with the Holiday Storybook Walk, presented by the Festival of Lights and Ladysmith Resources Centre, sponsored by the Ladysmith and District Credit Union, from Dec. 2 until 31.
