A StoryWalk is a book, told with a series of signs, planted outdoors along a walk, that take you through each page of a book. You follow along, walking from one ‘page’ of a story to the next. It is a walk, and it is reading.
What if a StoryWalk included more than reading the story? For preschoolers, adding movement and all sorts of challenges to each ‘page’ makes it even more exciting. The perfect book, of course, is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, by Bill Martin Jr and illustrated by Eric Carle.
This classic and beloved book is our new StoryWalk at school. Children love it! After our walk, back in the classroom, Connor blurted out, “I love doing the blue horse.” This ignited a flurry of excited children telling everyone their favorite page.
“Lumber like a brown bear on your hands and feet.”
And the pages continue:
“Lift your red wings and flap. Fly to number 3.”
“Waddle and quack like a duck, at the same time.”
“Gallop in a circle.”
No wonder this was so popular. And there were more favorites:
“Arch your back and stretch like a cat.”
“How many goldfish fins can you count?”
“Clap for your friends.”
Books and reading are fundamental to learning, and to stirring the imagination. When children can do the book, the interest is even greater. This is akin to acting out a story with a play performance, but with calculated movements that are important to gross motor development. Children have fun – they’re inspired by the story, challenged to move, count, and even breathe. “Take a sheep breath. Deep breath in, baaaa breath out.”
Thank you, Bill Martin Jr AND Eric Carle, for giving children a wonderful book with so many opportunities.
Jennie
A Teacher's Reflections 
What a fantastic idea! I love it! So, so, so many opportunities!!!
Thanks, Ritu! We have now done three this fall at school. It works well along an edge of the playground. Let me know if if you do one in the spring so I can give you tips. 😀
Thank you 💜
🥰
Love it Jennie. I bet the kids had fun.
They did! We’ll do it again next week. Thanks, Opher.
That looks like fun 🙂
It really is!
🙂
What a wonderful way to engage the children!! And more than a few adults I’ll bet . . .
Yes!! 🙂
I also love From Head to Toe, and it also provides some great stretching exercises for me. I follow up with charades to see how many characters and poses children remember.
That’s another great Carle book, and one I might use in the spring. When the lockdown hit in March, we teachers made a YouTube video of the book for the children, doing all the movements so they could follow along. Charades is a great follow up!
I love this! What a great idea. This is one of my grandkid’s favourite books. I think we will do a story walk in the yard in the spring when the weather is warmer. Thanks for sharing this.
That’s wonderful to hear! Staples copied the pages, then I had them laminated. We put shrink wrap over each board to protect it from the weather. Thank you!
what a beautiful walk
Thank you, Beth. 🙂
Hey, I want to play!
Come along! 😀
😀
Aww. So cute. What a wonderful way to enjoy a book. Great pictures, Jennie.
Thank you, Diana!
You have so many great ideas, Jennie. The kids are having a wonderful time indeed!
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks so much, Pete.
A perfect way to enjoy a book!!
When children can participate, they remember these books forever.
That looks like so much fun for the kids (and probably for you too), Jennie.
This sounds so fun… not just for children!
Wonderful idea! 🙂 Happy trails… xoxoxo
Great Idea, Jennie. The children can have so much fun doing the action part.
What a great way to teach kids and recognizing the importance of movement for children. I especially like the vocabulary they are learning (lumbering, waddle, arching your back).
Thank you, Pete. I had fun adding challenging words. The movement piece is important for children, as you know. They just know it is fun!
Love this book. Especially The hungry caterpillar by the same author.
They’re classics!
I’ve never seen a book walk! It’s beautiful Jennie! Way to go!
It is a wonderful thing. Thank you!
What a darling idea. No one has pictures like Eric Carle.
Thank you, Jacqui. Yes, his pictures are unique and most wonderful.
I love the integration of motion into a story that is so familiar to children. It adds another layer of connection to the text.
Yes, it does! We both know how important that is. Thank you, Lori.
Riiight… Brown Bear, Brown Bear – going onto the Christmas list for my two-year-old granddaughter who is highly kinesthetic in her learning:)) Thank you so much for the suggestions, Jennie!
Perfect!! “Head to Toe” is much the same, perhaps more movement. You can’t beat “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”
We have The Very Hungry Catapillar, but I love the idea of her doing all the movements. I’ll look out for Head to Toe and Brown Bear:))
I know what you mean!
Jennie, this post gave me so many smiles. I could feel its sunshine. I’ve never experienced a story walk. The concept is so exciting. Hugs on the wing!
Thank you, Teagan! Smiles and sunshine are are as good as it gets. A StoryWalk is a wonderful experience. Hugs to you. ❤️
“The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Storywalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson. Use the following link for further information. https://www.kellogghubbard.org/storywalk
Thank you, Barbara!
Jennie, this is a wonderful idea!
Thank you!
Reblogged this on charles french words reading and writing and commented:
Here is another excellent teaching idea from that excellent teacher, Jennie!
Thank you, Charles!
What a great idea! I’d love to see a neighborhood adopt this for the holidays. I remember seeing a neighborhood with a fantastic light show and a Christmas story on wooden signs in different yards.
Wouldn’t that be wonderful!
You make me want to be a kid again!
I’m so glad! 😀
This is on-beyond-zebra! What a fantastic gift idea! Thanx Jennie!
Thanks so much, Ren!
This is a fantastic idea, Jennie. I think kids would love it.
Thank you, Robbie. They definitely love it!