Sonny is new to the Jackson County area and becomes friends with Jack at school.
Jack decides to show Sonny around the county, starting at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge near Seymour and ending up at the Medora Covered Bridge.
Their adventure is shared in a book targeting preschoolers. It is being developed by the 2015 Leadership Jackson County youth and education team of Lola Snyder, Kendra Zumhingst, Chuck Olson, David Good, Amy Nierman and Amy Tracy.
The hope is to have an adult read the book to a preschooler, which will help both of them with reading comprehension and learning about the county and encourage them to visit those places together.
“For me, it was a double bang for our buck,” Zumhingst said. “There are a lot of adults that don’t know about those same things that we’re sharing with the kids. Not only are the kids learning, but the parents are learning it, also.”
Snyder has done most of the writing for the book.
“Whenever I’m writing any children’s book, including this one, it’s that interaction between whatever adult is reading to a child,” she said.
“They take that time out of their day away from their electronics, they sit down with a child and they spend that one-on-one time,” she said. “What we’re all really hoping is that then they take it one step further and they go to these places, so then they are spending time out of their house.”
Most of the places are free and available to the public, Snyder said.
“It’s getting away from TVs and video games and everything and doing something with your family,” she said. “You will never get that time back with a preschool-age child, ever.”
Since presenting the project at the Leadership Jackson County graduation in May, the group has been working on writing the book and raising funds.
After the team helped write the first page of the book, Snyder took off from there and is close to finishing that process. She had someone edit it, and the next step will be to hire an illustrator.
The book will contain nonfiction and fiction parts and include photographs of some of the places around the county that are mentioned in the book.
“It has been really fun to write,” Snyder said. “I don’t normally work in rhymes when I write because it’s just not my style, but I love rhymes, and I think they are really great, especially for that age.”
The group also plans to incorporate the book into Read Jackson County’s English as a second language program.
Snyder said standard picture books are 36 pages, so that is the group’s target. The hardbound, glossy page book will include a glossary and a page with various website links.
The team has received local support from Jackson County United Way, Jackson County Education Coalition and Seymour Mayor Craig Luedeman, among others. The Indiana Bicentennial Commission has endorsed the project, too. Next year is the bicentennial for the state, Jackson County and Brownstown.
“I feel like we’ve done a good job about reaching out to see different ways that we can partner,” Zumhingst said. “I feel like we’ve got good community support of people and leaders in positions that say, ‘Yes, we believe in this.’”
The plans are to have the book ready to be distributed by Kids Fest in April. Zumhingst said 750 books will be given to preschool and home-schooled students around the county, and the rest will be for sale to provide production funds for a second printing. That money would be handled by the Community Foundation of Jackson County.
“We wanted something that would be an impact and long-lasting,” Zumhingst said.
So far, the team has raised about $1,250 of the $7,500 needed to print 1,000 copies and pay for all expenses. There are four donor levels, ranging from $25 to $500 or more.
Zumhingst also has applied for several grants, and a GoFundMe account was set up online for people to donate.
“Every dollar counts. If it’s $10, if it’s $5, if it’s $200, everything counts,” she said. “I would like to challenge people to take pride in your community. … This is an opportunity for us to shine.”
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Leadership Jackson County is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so all donations toward the preschool book project are tax-deductible.
The donor levels are strategic sponsor, $25; sustaining sponsor, $100; messenger sponsor, $250; and harvester sponsor, $500 or more.
All donations may be sent to Leadership Jackson County, c/o Book Project, P.O. Box 982, Seymour, IN 47274.
Donations also may be made online at gofundme.com/v8692tw.
For information, contact Kendra Zumhingst at 812-528-8093 or [email protected].
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