Oct. 7 -- PRICEVILLE -- Hoping to entertain children, a small group of artists have painted murals on the walls of the Priceville public library.

"The old walls were blah," said Mayor Sam Heflin. "Now the kids come in and see the murals and they are excited. It's pretty amazing."

The once-brown walls of the Linda Duran Public Library at 1612 S. Bethel Road are now adorned with everything from farm animals to space to summer days.

Librarian Paula Hensley said the murals inspired a few kids from the summer reading program to say simply, "Wow, Miss Paula!"

The artists -- Nancy Williams and Jean Bryan -- painted the murals after the mayor and his wife, Jeanne, painted a base coat of blues and grays for them. The impetus for the murals was one simple question, Heflin said. Hensley had asked if anything could be done to make things brighter and more inspiring in the library.

"I had been saying we need to make the room more kid-friendly, and the mayor contacted Nancy and she came up with a pattern," said Hensley, who has been librarian for 15 years.

The mural doesn't really have one theme. Each wall is different, with one displaying an astronaut, planets and a rocket ship named Bulldog One after the school mascot. Another wall has hot air balloons and a cross, and another butterflies and sunflowers. The back wall features a forest, farm, cows, donkeys, horses, pigs, hay bales and a big pond. The three wall columns were turned into trees with one featuring a raccoon, nicknamed "Rascal" by one boy, peering out of a hole in the trunk.

It took about a month for the artists in residence to complete the work because when they finished one wall, they had to move shelves to accommodate the next section of artwork, Hensley said.

"It's amazing, especially when you go in there and see her (Williams) draw it freehand with chalk before painting," she said. "God has truly blessed both artists."

One of the best features of the murals is they are interactive in that kids can have their photograph taken as if they were riding in the hot air balloon or rocket or standing amid the butterflies and sunflowers, she said.