StoryWalk® brings reading, exploration to downtown Paris

Casandra Turnbull

Managing Editor

Families exploring downtown Paris this summer can add a little reading to their walk through the core thanks to a new StoryWalk® initiative from the County of Brant Public Library.

The free program combines literacy, physical activity and community exploration, with pages of Rattletrap Car by Phyllis Root displayed in the windows of 10 downtown businesses.

Lainey Tustin, coordinator of marketing and communications for the County of Brant Public Library, said the initiative is a way to take reading outside the library and into the community.

“StoryWalk® is a wonderful way to take reading beyond the walls of the Library and make it part of an everyday community experience,” Tustin said.

The library introduced the downtown StoryWalk® as a collaborative opportunity to support the Downtown Promenade during construction while encouraging families to explore local businesses.

“Bringing the StoryWalk experience downtown gives families an opportunity to enjoy a story together while discovering their community and focusing attention on local businesses along the way,” Tustin said.

The concept was originally created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont, in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, and has since been adopted by libraries and communities across North America.

For the library, literacy remains at the centre of the initiative, but Tustin said the experience offers families much more than reading.

“It's really all of these things. Reading is at the heart of StoryWalk®, but what makes the experience special is that it combines a book with movement, exploration and time together,” she said.

“Encouraging literacy and reading is always the library's main goal, but healthy development also includes physical activity and to be able to combine both is a huge win!”

Children experience the story one page at a time as they make their way through the downtown core, while families have an opportunity to connect with local businesses and the people who operate them.

For the summer StoryWalk®, library staff selected Rattletrap Car, a picture book that follows a family on a summer adventure.

Tustin said library staff began discussing possible selections in May, looking for books that were the right length, featured engaging illustrations and offered a story that would be fun to read aloud.

“When we thought of summer and excellent picture books, Rattletrap Car was one of the first books that came to mind,” she said.

“It has a vocabulary rich text and is one of the most amazing books to read aloud, especially with lots of expression!”

The book also incorporates sound effects and rhyming, with a summer-themed story that Tustin said families can relate to.

“It is so creative; sound effects, rhyming and a summer focused story –we hope everyone can relate to the happiness of cooling down in the water on a super-hot day and the wonderful illustrations capture this feeling perfectly,” she said.

The current StoryWalk® is free and accessible within the downtown core, beginning at Jiggs n Reels at 19 Broadway St. S. Families follow the numbered stops through downtown to read the story.

Maps are available at the Paris Branch of the County of Brant Public Library and at County of Brant administration buildings. The route includes Jiggs n Reels, El Thrift, One Sixty-One, Rexall, Miller’s Candy Co., Sales Decorating Centre, Tax Centre, Baby Bee Home, Paris Inn and Paris Wincey Mills.

Rattletrap Car will remain on display until September, when the library hopes to introduce a new fall-themed story.

The downtown initiative is part of a broader StoryWalk® program that began in Brant in 2021 after the library received a Government of Canada grant through the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative to help communities adapt public spaces and services during the pandemic.

The library now works in partnership with the County of Brant to offer permanent outdoor StoryWalk® installations at Mt. Pleasant Nature Park, Janice Hunt Memorial Park in Burford and King William Park in St. George.

Stories are updated throughout the year, often to coincide with seasonal changes and special events.

One upcoming event is Nature Tales & Trails at Mt. Pleasant Nature Park on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 1 to 3 p.m., as part of Ontario Culture Days celebrations.

The library hopes StoryWalk® will continue to give families opportunities to combine reading with movement and community connection.

“Families have a free activity that gets them engaged with their community and it connects them to the faces of their neighbours and friends who run those businesses,” Tustin said.