'A labor of love'

Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary students are in for a surprise when they return to school this month.

Librarian Vella Smith recently completed the finishing touches on a 70-foot mural in the library. It includes characters from 55 children's books, and Smith was eager to see the looks on kids' faces when they view it for the first time.

"They're going to be blown away," she said. "I think everything turned out quite well."

From Harry Potter to the Cat In the Hat to The Pokey Little Puppy, the mural is filled with memorable characters from a vast array of books. Smith said her selection process was somewhat loose – she included characters from kids' favorite books, contemporary stories and classics. Others were painted simply for nostalgia.

"Dick and Jane and The Pokey Little Puppy are classics that most parents and grandparents have grown up with, but the bear from Where's My Teddy? is one of my kids' favorites," she said.

There's no telling how many hours Smith put into the mural. She worked on it in her free time during school hours and ramped up efforts this summer when classes were dismissed. She was aided by H-M-S Elementary associate Dave Hofman, who has done artwork at the Sanborn Public Library in the past. He sketched some of the larger elements of the piece and provided tips to Smith, who had never done a large work like this before.

Smith's passion for art dates back to her childhood. She remembers her mother taking away coloring books and replacing them with plain paper when she was 4, simply because the coloring books were no longer challenging.

Smith kept the creative fires burning and took art classes throughout middle school and high school. She painted backdrops for events during college and also for vacation Bible school in Hartley, but nothing compares to her 70-foot masterpiece.

"It's been a labor of love," she said. "I'm hopeful that the kids will look at it and see that it's books that have come to life. It's not just something that they're going to just read, but something they can actually visualize. Maybe they can look at this and it encourages them to read that book."

Elementary students were able to watch the mural come to life before classes dismissed. Thing 1, Thing 2 and The Cat In the Hat were completed before Dr. Seuss Week, and other sketches were on the wall throughout the second semester.

Like any artist, Smith had her critics, though she admitted they weren't too harsh.

"I had a lot of kids ask why I didn't add this thing or that, but I'd tell them that's a movie, not a book," she said. "These are all characters from books."

Fourth graders were even given a sheet of paper in May and charged with listing all the characters they knew. One student named 48 correctly.

"It has become a Where's Waldo? type of thing, though Waldo's not in it," Smith said.

The mural needs to be sealed yet, but it's ready for students' curious eyes. Smith was excited to see the looks on their faces when they come to the library for the first time later this month.

"When I was moving all the ladders and everything out of the way on that last day, I stepped back and it was just kind of a big sigh of relief. But it was such a fun project," she said. "The kids might have a hard time paying attention the first few weeks. You don't know the enormity of size until you're here looking at it."

Smith was proud to leave her mark on the library for years to come.

"I'm glad I got to do it. It is my legacy to the school," she said. "It's a work from the heart."