StoryWalk® in Middleton Provides Outdoor Activity for Kids this October

MIDDLETON, Wis. — For families looking to get outdoors this fall, a StoryWalk® in downtown Middleton combines exercise, reading and Halloween fun.

Come downtown to Middleton from Oct. 1-31 for an outdoor, interactive reading of “Click, Clack, Boo!: A Tricky Treat.” The StoryWalk® takes readers on a 20-stop reading adventure to different businesses to read a page or two from the book with a coordinating activity. The map and businesses are numbered so that readers can follow the stops in order and find out what happens next in the story.

Begin at the Middleton Public Library to pick up a free map and guide to the StoryWalk®, as well as one free copy of the book, provided by Friends of the Middleton Public Library. “Click, Clack, Boo!: A Tricky Treat,” by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin, tells the tale of Farmer Brown – who hates Halloween, and his silly barnyard animals – who do not.

StoryWalk® maps are also available online here.

Although there will not be a downtown trick-or-treat event this year, the Downtown Middleton Business Association and the Middleton Public Lands, Recreation and Forestry Department are offering a Halloween costume contest. Participants must snap a photo in costume at any of the StoryWalk® stops, then post photos to Instagram by Nov. 1 using the hashtag #MiddletonCostumeContest. Participants will be entered in one of four categories: Overall Best Costume; Best Homemade Costume; Best Family or Couple’s Costume; and Best Kid’s Costume. Winners will be announced on the DMBA Instagram page in early November and notified of their prizes.

Safety guidelines: Please practice social distancing during your StoryWalk®, giving others six feet of space, and follow Dane County Public Health guidelines regarding COVID-19, including wearing face coverings indoors or in crowded spaces if 5 years or older, and staying home if sick or presenting symptoms.

StoryWalk® is presented by Middleton Public Library and the DMBA. 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. For more information about Middleton’s StoryWalk®, please visit the DMBA page.