The Wildlife Center of Virginia is sponsoring a three-day children’s book tour throughout the Shenandoah Valley and Charlottesville. WMRA’s Randi B. Hagi reports.

From Thursday through Saturday this week, staff from the Wildlife Center and author Christy Gove will be visiting several venues in the area. Gove’s new children’s book, “Bailey the Bear Needs Help!,” is the third she’s written about real animals at the center.

AMANDA NICHOLSON: It’s based on a true story of a former Wildlife Center patient.

Amanda Nicholson is the center’s senior vice president.

NICHOLSON: It was a bear cub that we received back in 2016, after the cub was hit by a vehicle. And the cub came in to us with a fractured jaw, and our veterinary team was able to do surgery to repair that jaw fracture. … We ended up releasing that bear the following spring when the bear was about a year old!

While black bears aren’t well suited to visit public libraries, other education animals from the center will be present at each stop along the tour.

NICHOLSON: We’ll have a rotating cast of characters, between the turtles and the snakes and the possums and birds of prey!

Tour locations include Waynesboro, Staunton, Harrisonburg, Mt. Crawford, Charlottesville, and Scottsville. Two of the events will be held at the Wildlife Center itself and require an RSVP.