Q. What is the history of the Mural at the Thousand Oaks Library?

The mural in the Grant R. Brimhall Library was commissioned by the Friends of the Thousand Oaks Library in 1984. Funds were raised by the Friends, and by the sale of children's tiles, floor tiles, and square foot squares of the mural to the community. 

Work on the mural began in 1986, by Bradley Schenck, one of over 200 artists who had competed to win the contract for the project. The location of the mural is where the Children's Library was initially located. The mural was completed in March, 1987.

Images incorporated are interpretations of characters from popular books, such as: The Hobbit, The Hound of Ulster, A Wizard of Earthsea, Puck of Pook's Hill, Otto of the Silver Hand, the Griffin and the Minor canon, the Weirdstone of Brisingamen, the Throne of the Erril or Sherill, Red Moon and Black Mountain, the Golem, the Velveteen Rabbit, and the Wind in the Willows.  Books were chosen by a poll taken by area schoolchildren. The bagpiper in the mural is a portrait of our first Library Director, Marvin E. Smith, the harpist is local musician Patrick Ball. 

Image of the mural, just after it was completed, April 5, 1987. 

The image below is the Guide to the Books and Characters in the Children's Mural, as of 1987.

1. Bilbo Baggins, the Hobbit (l) and Gollum from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
2. Queen Maeve of Connacht can be found in The Hound of Ulster by Rosemary Sutcliff and Irish Sagas and Folktales by Eileen O'Faolain.
3. Ged the Wizard. His life story from little boy to very old man is told in A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore, all written by Ursula K. LeGuin.
4. Famous fairy Puck (middle) with children Dan and Una. From Rudyard Kipling's books Puck of Pook's Hill and Rewards and Fairies.
5. A German castle straight out of the Middle Ages. From Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle.
6. The Griffin (part eagle and part lion) from Frank R. Stockton's The Griffin and the Minor Canon, illustrated by Maurice Sendak.
7. Colin and Susan from Alan Garner's magical books The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath.
8. Caerles the Cnite (like a knight) from The Throme of the Erril of Sherill by Patricia A. McKillip. 
9. "The Dancer" from the book of many adventures, Red Moon and Black Mountain by Joy Chant. 
10. Miriam, straight out of The Golem by Isaac Bashevis Singer.
11. Three rabbits -- two real and one a very special toy rabbit -- are found in Margery William's famous tale, The Velveteen Rabbit. 
12. The Water Rat and the Mole, good friends from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. 
13. Harpist and storyteller Patrick Ball, a very real person who enchants listeners with his music and lore much the same way that books enchant readers. 

*Not included in the list is the small figure of a bagpiper (just to the left of figure #3 Ged the Wizard) who was painted to honor our first Library Director, Marvin E. Smith. 

Donors

When the mural was being planned, sponsors were sought to pay for the artwork.  Below is the image with the Donor grid, showing the sponsored squares of the mural. 

Keyed to the squares are these lists of sponsors. In addition to full squares, sponsors could purchase a quarter square for $5.  When you see a letter next to the number, it maps as follows: