On what seemed like a typical school day, students from the Germantown Academy Lower School were recently treated to a not-so-average day! November 13th started out with an enthusiastic assembly for over 350 students in the Lower School. The assembly revolved around the gifting of a personal paperback copy of The Wind in the Willows of Bucks County to each student from Heritage Conservancy.
The Wind in the Willows of Bucks County is a modernized-but-faithful reimagining of Kenneth Grahame’s Victorian river tale. The story follows the tale of Mole, Rat, Toad, and Badger, and this revised version of the book places them in the heart of Bucks County. Evoking pride and sense of place, recognizable landmarks from our area are peppered throughout the story, including Heritage Conservancy’s Aldie Mansion, the Black Bass Inn, the Michener Art Museum, the Delaware River, and many others. Alan Fetterman, Bucks County’s Artist in Residence, embarked on a creative journey to impart his talents for the painting pages of the novel.
To celebrate their gift, fourth-graders acted out scenes from the book in front of the whole Lower School, and there was no shortage of talent! The children in the audience delighted in their peers’ performances throughout. At the end, they erupted into cheers to show their appreciation. The theatrical readings were followed by a Q&A session with representatives from The Vesta Fund and Alan Fetterman.
Heritage Conservancy extends gratitude to The Vesta Fund for envisioning, spearheading, writing, designing, and funding The Wind in the Willows of Bucks County as a gift for Heritage Conservancy to distribute to area schoolchildren. Three thousand paperback books have been disseminated to local schools, and each school is using their books in engaging ways such as field trips and class presentations to teach students about local history and our natural resources.
Heritage Conservancy’s hope is that this book continues to instill an appreciation for open spaces and historic places that are so important to this region.
The Wind in the Willows of Bucks County features original artwork by celebrated plein air impressionist artist Alan Fetterman, and donations from a leather-bound collector’s edition benefit Heritage Conservancy. To learn more, click HERE.
To view a short video of the Q&A, click HERE.
