Children’s Book Inspired by Real Events Shines Light on Community Trail Stewardship
Children’s books allow us see the whimsical side of what we love. Author Roni Schotter works her magic in her most recent story, “Bibi Steps Out!,” following shy, artistic Bibi Berstein from an ordinary day along her favorite trail to the community effort that breathes new life into the beloved path.
In the story, young Bibi fondly notices the delightful members of her community as she quietly walks past them on her way to her preferred spot along the Old Rail Trail. Immersed in her sketching by the nearby stream, she notices a couple of neighbors installing birdhouses. Although her first inclination is to slip away, she is intrigued. This begins Bibi’s involvement in an energetic, positive effort as her talented neighbors revitalize this once-neglected trail and give it—and Bibi—a new life.
What makes “Bibi Steps Out!” even closer to a trail lover’s heart is that it is based upon real events. “During the pandemic, needing to get outside, my husband and I took to walking every day,” said Schotter. This included the nearby South County Trailway that runs between Saw Mill River Parkway and the Saw Mill River, connecting Elmsford and Yonkers in New York.
Century-Old Line Transformed
“Long ago, the New York Central and Putnam Railroad, nicknamed the “Old Put,” ran through it,” she said. The New York City and Boston Railroad, began the route in the 1870s, and after a series of financial crises, J.P. Morgan and his associates organized the New York Central and Putnam in 1894. The “Old Put” carried commuters, as well as milk, farm products and iron ore from rural communities into the city. Part of the line ran through Pocantico Hills, which the Rockefellers later purchased. In [the late 1920s], John D. Rockefeller Jr. [negotiated with the railroad to] relocate the tracks because he was annoyed with the noise and smoke that interfered with his pastoral landscape.”
Passenger service ceased in 1958, and the last freight service ended in 1981. About a century from its inception—it was the end of “Old Put.”
“Then, it was paved over, and though bordered by trees, with time it became littered and overgrown with invasive weeds. Nonetheless, we loved our walks along it,” said Schotter, making it easy to visualize the Old Rail Trail Bibi visited in her book.
[Editor’s Note: Read about the decades-long efforts by a coalition of organizations and community members to revitalize the watershed and trail corridor below.]
A Beautiful Effort
One day, as Schotter and her husband walked, she noticed brightly colored birdhouses attached to several trees. This beautiful effort touched her deeply. “I was filled with wonder as to how this had occurred. Then, the next time I walked on the trail, there were even more birdhouses! Who was responsible for this?”
She discovered it was her next-door neighbor, and he became Mr. Fogelman, the birdhouse builder in the story. Schotter said, “He was always working on something in his open garage. Well, it turned out that his latest endeavor was creating the wondrous, whimsical birdhouses!”
“With each walk that I took, the rail-trail was improving and becoming more amazing. In addition to the birdhouses, there were soon benches, butterfly gardens—even miniature wooden boats in the river that ran alongside the trail. The litter was no longer, and more and more people were using the trail. I soon discovered that people from my neighborhood, in conjunction with an organization named Groundwork Hudson Valley, were responsible for the clean-up and the removal of invasive weeds. In other words, unbeknownst to me, people had been working together to repair and beautify our world.”
The Real Effort Behind Bibi Steps Out!
Revitalization activities on the South County Trailway have been led by Groundwork Hudson Valley in collaboration with the Saw Mill River Coalition as part of decades-long efforts to advocate for, clean up and restore the river and surrounding watershed. Prior to these efforts, years of heavy land use and development presented serious challenges to the area, including flooding, pollution, ecosystem degradation, erosion and the overgrowth of invasive species.
Read more about the coalition’s efforts to “daylight” the rivershed on Groundwork Hudson Valley’s website.
Bibi Steps Out Into Vision
“Trails remind me that we are part of something much larger than ourselves—the natural world, which, when watched over and cared for, shares its beauty with us.”
—Author Roni Schotter
“Little by little, a story started to hatch in my head about a shy girl who loves to draw at an abandoned rail-trail, and who then has to summon her courage to join with her neighbors in helping to tidy up and beautify it. ‘Bibi Steps Out!’ was born,” she says. To depict the story, Schotter took illustrator Christy Hale on a walk along the trail to help her create Bibi’s world in pastel-colored collages.
”Bibi Steps Out!”is the latest of the 32 books born of Schotter’s imagination. “I’ve always been a daydreamer, prizing imagination,” she said, although she never expected to become an author. “I was, like the character in ‘Bibi Steps Out!’—quite shy, very much an observer of life, less of a participant,” Roni explained. But she also loved language deeply and felt compelled to share the stories that touched her.
Her first book, a young adult novel titled “A Matter of Time,” began as a journal of her mother’s final days, whose untimely death was difficult. At her husband’s urging, Schotter turned these experiences and feelings into prose to positively impact young people. Two years after its publication, ABC adapted her work into an Afterschool Special, which earned an Emmy Award as an Outstanding Children’s Entertainment Special.
“When it was published, I dared to think that if I could write a second book, I could call myself a writer,” she said. Since her initial foray into the world of words, her books have ranged from playful adventures to Jewish holiday stories and even historical fiction. Yet, all share an underlying theme: children discovering that their words and actions have inherent power and can enact change. In the worlds Schotter creates, imagination translates into action, a fitting and familiar plot for the rail-trail community.
Pathways to Togetherness
“Trails remind me that we are part of something much larger than ourselves—the natural world, which, when watched over and cared for, shares its beauty with us,” said Schotter. “Out in that world, we get to be discoverers. We can employ at least four of our five senses: sight, sound, smell and touch to soak up that beauty. We get to see passing people who, like us, are also enjoying a special trail. I walk nearly every day. My walks lift my spirits and hopefully keep me healthy.”
She believes these trails help all of us feel less alone. “When we, the people, get together to care for and about something, we are powerful. If there is a message in my book, “Bibi Steps Out!,” it is that human beings, no matter their differences, when they join together, they can make the world a better, kinder, more inclusive and beautiful place.”
Learn how to purchase a copy of “Bibi Steps Out!” on the Penguin Randomhouse website.
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