How to Make a Book Walk

How to Make a Book Walk

I have been putting together book walks in my city since 2020…and I love them.

But before I talk about HOW to make a Book Walk I should probably explain WHAT a book walk is.  

This is a book walk:

It is a book that has been taken apart, page by page, so that it can be read on a walk through a park or along a trail.

The Arts Alliance that I work with started creating these walks during the pandemic as a way to give local kids and their moms an outing in the fresh air….and once I started with them, I couldn’t stop.

Here’s how to put them together.

#1.  Buy 2 of the same book. (Because picture books are printed on the front and back of each page.)

#2.  Cut the binding off the books and cut all the pages to the same size.

#3. Put the pages in story order.

#4.  Glue each page of the story onto a 12” x12” piece of paper.

#5.  Tape (or glue) 12” x 12” sheet protectors  to blank yard signs.  

(I put the opening to the protectors facing the side rather than the top just in case of inclement weather or sprinklers.)

#6.  Slide the story pages into the sheet protectors in story order.

#7.  Arrange the yard signs in story order along a sidewalk or path.

That’s it!

So easy. (I have a group of teens that help me put together new book walks every spring so that we are ready to go once summer hits.)

I put my book walks up all summer long at local parks (we have an agreement with the city that allows us to set these up at the city parks) every Wednesday.  

The book walks go up at 9:00 am and come down at 8:00 pm.  

We place them along sidewalks and trails so that children can walk along (usually with a parent) and read the book.  

Sometimes we will even include a little activity to do along with the book walk, or something that can be taken home and worked on the correlates to the book walk.

I love this. It is so much fun.

It is a tradition that I don’t want to stop.

Book Walks Forever!