Skip to content

A ‘moving’ story about a bear along Frame Lake Trail (sort of)

What better way to read about wildlife than through a story walk in the outdoors?
25260136_web1_210526-YEL-story-three_1
Yellowknife families expressed praise for the story walk project in comments posted to the YWCA NWT’s Facebook page. Blair McBride/NNSL photo

What better way to read about wildlife than through a story walk in the outdoors?

Yellowknifers had their chance along the Frame Lake trail, where 12 laminated pages from the book Anna and the Bear were posted on stakes on May 17 and displayed over the weekend. The book was written by Miranda Currie and illustrated by Alison McCreesh, both Yellowknifers. It was published in 2013.

The book focuses on a hiker named Anna and her encounters with a friendly black bear.

Anna and the Bear tells the story of a curious hiker named Anna who meets a friendly black bear out on the land. Blair McBride/NNSL photo
Anna and the Bear tells the story of a curious hiker named Anna who meets a friendly black bear out on the land. Blair McBride/NNSL photo

The YWCA NWT Family Centre organized the story walk, a project it planned to do for some time, said Tamika Hessian, a YWCA early childhood program coordinator. The suspension of its programs amid the N.J. Macpherson COVID-19 outbreak gave it impetus to make it happen.

“It was a super fun way to celebrate the return of the nice weather,” said Kate Mansfield, whose son William joined the walk with other families.

“I liked that I could ride my bike and read each page,” William said.

Betsy Lucko, who joined the same group, said the story walk was a great addition to the Frame lake Trail.

Betsy Lucko, left, Jack Nixon, Cassie Cott and William Mansfield read a page from Anna and the Bear during the story walk on May 21. photo courtesy of Kate Mansfield
Betsy Lucko, left, Jack Nixon, Cassie Cott and William Mansfield read a page from Anna and the Bear during the story walk on May 21. photo courtesy of Kate Mansfield

“The more you can interact with your children while being outside, especially connecting your outdoor time with literacy is a win-win for us.”

Laurence Rivet-Jaque helped her son Theodore, who is almost three ride along to each staked page.

He has just started riding a balance bike and loves books, Rivet-Jacque said.

“This story walk was the perfect way to entertain him as it combined two of his favourite things at the moment. He was very motivated to keep riding to find out what would happen next in the story,” she said.

“I like that it was a local book. We know the illustrator so for my son it was neat to make that connection. I liked how it mentions how we should behave if we ever encounter a bear. At the end of the story, my son wanted to keep finding more pages. We would definitely enjoy doing this type of activity again.”