Hilltown Families 
Bring a StoryWalk to Your Neighborhood
Berkshire Athenaeum Has Pre-Made StoryWalks for Borrowing!
The Berkshire Athenaeum in Pittsfield, MA has over 20 StoryWalks for patrons to borrow for free! StoryWalks are great way to promote literacy in young children while having them engage in outdoor activities.
Reading a book and taking a walk outside share many similarities for children – they are, first of all, things that take place frequently in the life of a young person. Stories and time outdoors are also ways that kids learn about the world around them. Books offer a look into other places, contexts, and cultures, and can teach kids about virtually any subject. Out-of-doors trips are learning experiences, too – kids observe their environment, learn how to interact with it, and make discoveries about the world. So why not combine the two!? A StoryWalk does just that!
What is a StoryWalk?
Originating in Montpelier, VT, the concept takes classic children’s books (think Chicka, Chicka, Boom Boom and Where the Wild Things Are), enlarges them, divides them up into sections, and then posts them throughout an area like a park, downtown district, or a playground for families to read while they explore! StoryWalks are a great way for kids to discover new stories – moving from section to section allows time for kids to process what they’ve read, ask questions, and share their thoughts just as they might in between pages during a normal read, but without the sitting still necessary for read-alouds at home.
Local Resource to Aid in Hosting a StoryWalk
StoryWalks can be used at schools, community centers, and daycares; they add learning experiences to community events and festivals; and promote literacy and literary appreciation! Wish you could offer one to your students, share one with your neighborhood, or add one to an event? The Berkshire Athenaeum has pre-made StoryWalk portfolios for borrowing! There are stories of all types, ranging from Jan Brett classics to books about counting. Each set includes laminated posters, instructions, and other useful resources (including some added by fellow StoryWalk borrowers).
The Berkshire Athenaeum has over 20 StoryWalk portfolios available to lend, including these titles:
- Ayres, Katherine – Up Down and Around
- Brown, Margaret Wise – Big Red Barn
- Bruchac, Joseph – Many Nations
- Cauley, Lorinda Bryan – Clap Your Hands
- Buehner, Caralyn – Snowmen at Night
- Crews, Donald – Ten Black Dots
- Dodd, Emma – What Pet to Get
- Dorros, Arthur – Animal Tracks
- Ehlert, Lois – Growing Vegetable Soup (English/Español)
- Katz, Karen – The Colors of Us
- Martin, Bill – Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
- Marzollo, Jean – How Kids Grow
- McGrath, Barbara Barbieri — The Baseball Counting Book
- Moore, Clement C. – The Night Before Christmas
- Penn, Audrey – The Kissing Hand
- Raschka, Chris – Charlie Parker Played Be Bop
- Sendak, Maurice – Where the Wild Things Are
- Senisi, Ellen B. – Kindergarten Kids
- Shannon, David – Duck on a Bike
- Silverstein, Shel — The Giving Tree
- Tillman, Nancy – Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You
- Winthrop, Elizabeth – Shoes
- Behrens, Janice – Let’s Vote on It!
- Brett, Jan – The Mitten
For more information, contact the library at 413-499-9480 or visit www.pittsfieldlibrary.wordpress.com.
I live in Michigan. We are thinking we would like to try an in-library story walk but have never done one before. Is it possible to borrow one of yours? or for you to take some pictures so we could see what you are doing? or for you to share some docs?