What Is Storywalk^®?

StoryWalk® is a fun and innovative way for people of all ages to exercise their bodies, as well as their minds.  Take a leisurely stroll on a path and read a story while getting some fresh air! Findlay's original StoryWalk® is located in beautiful Riverside Park. The path leads you clockwise under a canopy of tall trees starting at the bandshell as the story continues through the park and ends at the Waterfalls Pavilion. The second StoryWalk® was installed in 2021 at the Benton Ridge Park, and the third in 2022 at the Findlay City Schools Preschool. The StoryWalk® at the Findlay City Schools Preschool was made possible by a grant from the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), awarded by the State Library of Ohio. 

A special thank you to the Hancock County Park District and the City of Findlay for installing StoryWalk® at Riverside Park, and to Veer Mehta for coordinating and completing the installation of the Findlay City Schools Preschool StoryWalk® as his Eagle Scout project.      

StoryWalk® was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont, and developed in collaboration with the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition and the Kellogg-Hubbard Library.  For more information, please call us at 419-422-1712.

Please share photos of your wonderful trips to our StoryWalk® locations with us at facebook.com/fhcpl.  

Book For March at Riverside Park, Findlay

Right This Very Minute

by Lisl H. Detlefsen

     How food gets from farm to table is explained in this fun and fast-paced introduction to the farms and farmers that grow the food we eat every day. What's that you say? You're hungry? Right this very minute? Then you need a farmer! 

     It only takes a minute to feed a hungry kid – and teach them about where food comes from – in this informative and fun picture book about agriculture. Throughout the story, families in their busy kitchens or at the table wonder where the delicious foods they’re about to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert come from – followed by colorful, detailed spreads showing the operations and people involved in farming those foods. More than a dozen different types of farms are featured throughout, including a citrus grower testing oranges for ripeness, how a family-owned strawberry farm runs a “u-pick” business, how maple syrup is collected using a new tubing system instead of buckets, how wheat is planted, how a cranberry farmer saves berries from a frost, how a peanut farmer tests soil, how a dairy farmer cares for their animals, how lettuce is harvested, how beef farmers work with cattle on the range, and many more examples of agriculture in action.

Book For March at Findlay City Schools Preschool

Here are the Seeds 

by JaNay Brown-Wood

     Author and poet JaNay Brown-Wood’s cumulative tale, similar to The House That Jack Built, starts promisingly: ”Here are the seeds that we will sow to help our garden grow.“ But as time passes, the children quickly learn that things rarely go as planned in the garden. Plants will droop without enough sun and wilt without enough water. Suddenly, ”OH NO!“ becomes the children’s repeated refrain. Eventually, the pair come to see that nature itself provides everything a magnificent garden needs to flourish! 

     This engaging read-aloud doubles as a child-friendly lesson on what plants need in order to grow. Olivia Amoah’s vivid artwork brings the story to life, particularly on the spreads featuring the refrain (”OH NO!“), where readers can look at the illustrations to try to figure out what went wrong in the garden. The story covers the key elements of what makes a healthy garden, such as soil, sun, bugs, water, mushrooms and worms - and shows how balance is necessary for plants to survive. The back matter includes brief explanations of each of these key elements. This picture book offers excellent life science curriculum connections to the needs of living things, growth and changes in plants and plant life cycles.

Book For March at Benton Ridge Park

 Amara's Farm

      by JaNay Brown-Wood   

     Amara is hosting a potluck for friends on her farm, and she needs help finding her pumpkins to serve a tasty dish. What do we know about pumpkins? They're large, round, and orange—and, wait a minute, is that a pumpkin? No, that's an apple. Where, oh, where could those pumpkins be? Can you help Amara find them in time for her potluck? 

     The first title in the Where in the Garden? picture book series stars Amara, a young girl who explores the crops growing on her family's intergenerational farm. Playful text guides young readers to hunt for visual clues and compare and contrast the unique characteristics of pumpkins against okra, cauliflower, eggplant, and other produce that grows on Amara's farm. 

     Artist Samara Hardy brings this multi-layered story to life with vivid, cheerful illustrations created from layers of hand painted ink and watercolor texture. Back matter includes a yummy molasses pumpkin bread recipe for little chefs and their adult helpers to try together.