Stroll through children’s books as StoryWalk returns to Chilliwack this summer

People will once again be able to walk through children’s storybooks in Chilliwack, this time while visiting two different parks this summer.

StoryWalk is a self-guided outdoor literacy event where people read a children’s story, spread out page-by-page, over a walking distance.

Chilliwack Learning Society brought two StoryWalk books to the community in March during the City of Chilliwack’s 2021 Reading Challenge, and now two new stories will be popping up in July in two different Chilliwack parks.

READ MORE: StoryWalk transforms Chilliwack trails, sidewalks into outdoor literacy adventures

Laminated pages from children’s books are attached to wooden stakes which are installed along an outdoor path. As people stroll through the park, they’re directed to the next page in the story.

Folks can read Stand Like a Cedar in Walden Park and Too Much Glue at Sardis Park from July 9 to 30.

Stand Like a Cedar was chosen as a way to include Halq’emeylem to the summer StoryWalk event. The idea to include the First Nations language came about thanks to Christine Seymour, Indigenous enhancement teacher with the Chilliwack School District.

The book is a “great addition” to StoryWalk, said Annette Williams, literacy outreach co-ordinator with Chilliwack Learning Society.

“Christine recommended Stand Like a Cedar, which is a book we also use in our Bookworm Friends program. It is beautifully illustrated with wonderful storytelling,” Williams said. “Along the Walden Park walk we’ll also include a map of the First Nations languages of B.C.”

Too Much Glue, the story at Sardis Park, is a “delightfully humorous tale of a boy who… you guessed it… uses too much glue in his school art projects. One day it leads to a mishap and the fun begins,” Williams said.

The StoryWalk project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT. The Chilliwack Learning Society isn’t the only group who has hosted StoryWalk events. Trails in Yarrow have been home to StoryWalk books and other groups like schools have joined in as well.

“It’s great to see,” Williams said.

Participants ages zero to 12 years old can also enter a prize draw for one of six $20 gift certificates to The Book Man. Ballots (online version and printable version) will be posted at chilliwacklearning.com/services/children-and-youth/storywalk. The ballot can be submitted online through the online link or in print form to the Chilliwack and Sardis libraries. The libraries will have printed ballots available for people who don’t have access to a printer. Winners will be selected randomly on Aug. 9. Limit of one entry per person (not per StoryWalk location).