Storybook Trail opens in Brookville park

A Storybook Trail that helps teach children about the importance of reading, a healthy lifestyle and connecting with nature is open at Sycamore State Park in Brookville.

Ohio first lady Fran DeWine and Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz attended a Monday morning ribbon-cutting ceremony at the park. The ODNR partnered with the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to provide story content for the trails.

“There is nothing better than fresh air and a good book, and Ohio’s Storybook Trails offer both,” DeWine said in a statement. “A focus on early literacy can make a world of difference in a child’s life, and the books featured on these trails were handpicked by the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library for their easy-to-understand, positive narratives.”

There are now eight half-mile Storybook Trails at state parks throughout Ohio, each with 15 to 20 child-height panels featuring pages of a children’s book and an activity to accompany the text on the page.

“Daniel Finds a Poem” by Micha Archer, which tells the story of a young boy who explores nature and finds poetry in the beauty around him, was selected for display at Sycamore State Park.

Other Storybook Trails are in the Centerville-Washington Park District, Dominick Lofino Park in Beavercreek, the city of Fairborn and John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs.

There are 286,184 children enrolled in the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library, which provides one free book every month to children enrolled in the program from birth to age 5. To learn more about the program and how to participate, visit OhioImaginationLibrary.org.

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