The Barbara Rose Johns Farmville-Prince Edward Community Library celebrated the unveiling of its new children’s room mural Saturday, Nov. 9. The mural, titled “Springtime in Virginia,” was done by local Buckingham County artist Cris Arbo. The artwork portrays a towering tree covered in colorful and detailed woodland creatures.

Megan Newcomb, the library’s youth services specialist, stated that she wanted to bring Virginia’s natural beauty into the library. Arbo, a children’s book illustrator, seemed like the perfect person to make Newcomb’s dream a reality.

Arbo worked for approximately three months on the project, painting mostly freehand.

The artist joined families at the library to celebrate her mural’s unveiling. Snacks at the celebration included dirt pudding, Teddy Grahams and gummy worms as a homage to the mural’s nature-themed whimsy. A competition was held to count how many ladybugs could be found on the mural, with the official number totaling 57.

Children from all over the area can come to the library, pick out a book, and read under Arbo’s new tree. Additionally, no tax dollars were used for the artwork.