Baltimore's Child Baltimore's Child
The Govans neighborhood of Baltimore will host a StoryWalk through June 30.
Families can pick up a program guide at the Govans branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, which will tell them where to find each page of “The Kindness Book” by New York Times Bestselling author Todd Parr.
The 2019 release delves into a universal theme well-suited for parents and children alike: “No matter what other people choose to do, you can always choose to be kind,” as noted on Parr’s website.
The pages are hiding in panels in local school and business windows. Find them all, read and check them off on the guide and complete a Kindness Countdown activity, and you will receive a free copy of the book while supplies last.
There are 16 pages to find (plus two more beginning and ending at the library) and a weeklong countdown—so start early!
As a bonus, families can gather around Zoom on Saturday, June 25, at 2 p.m. for a virtual visit with stories and a question-and-answer from the author. Register in advance for the free event—part of Summer Break Baltimore, encouraging literacy and learning in Baltimore—at tinyurl.com/2p9br2v5.
The Storywalk series was created by Anne Ferguson, in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Vermont.
More than 300 libraries across the U.S. and Canada had created outdoor StoryWalks as of 2017, according to research from Let’s Move in Libraries from UNC Greensboro School of Education.
Baltimore County Public Libraries, as part of an educational outreach partnership with Baltimore County Recreation and Parks, instituted a similar effort with story trails. It uses the same concept of reading panel by panel—only the panels are placed in public parks across the county.
There are four library story trails in Baltimore County. The fifth will be at the Ravens-themed destination playground at Northwest Regional Park slated to open this summer.
