FOUNDATION EVENTS
Third Outdoors Noyes StoryWalk® Features Kamala and Maya's Big Idea
Families are invited to read the book Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea by Meena Harris on posted signs as they stroll through a garden setting in Kensington. The third Noyes StoryWalk®, presented by the Noyes Children’s Library Foundation in collaboration with the Town of Kensington, will be available for self-guided exploration from Saturday, March 20, 2021, through Sunday, April 10, 2021, at Clum-Kennedy Park (10298 Frederick Ave., Kensington, MD 20895).
Written by Vice President Kamala Harris’ niece, Meena Harris, Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea is based on a true story about Kamala Harris and her older sister, Maya. The girls want to create a play area in their apartment building’s courtyard, and they use collective cooperation to achieve their goal. The theme of turning “no” into “yes” is a fun tie-in to a nickname sometimes given to Noyes Library: The No Yes Library.
A free craft kit related to Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea will be available for pick up in a box outside the Noyes Library for Young Children (10237 Carroll Place, Kensington, MD 20895) on Saturdays and Sundays (9am to 4pm) for the duration of the StoryWalk® (except in inclement weather).
While enjoying the StoryWalk® experience, visitors are asked to wear masks and observe social distance. Street parking is available in the neighborhood surrounding Clum-Kennedy Park (do not park in the retail lot across the street).
Families are encouraged to share a photo of the walk, a selfie at Noyes, and/or a photo of the completed craft on the Noyes Children’s Library Facebook page (facebook.com/MakeMoreNoyes), post to Facebook and tag the Noyes Children’s Library Foundation, or post to Instagram and tag @makemorenoyes.
Families can also tune into free weekly storytimes on Tuesdays presented by the Foundation on Facebook Live (facebook.com/MakeMoreNoyes). A storytime on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, will include D.C. stage actor and Kensington mom Karen Vincent reading Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea. The storytime can be viewed live at 11am (EST). Storytimes with Vincent continue weekly on Tuesdays at 11am on Facebook Live.
While the Noyes Library for Young Children remains closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Noyes Foundation has been providing literacy outreach to the Greater D.C. community. The first Noyes StoryWalk®, presented by the Noyes Children’s Library Foundation in January, featured pages from The Mitten by Jan Brett in store windows in Kensington; a February StoryWalk® focused on The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and was installed at Warner Circle Park in Kensington.
The Noyes Children’s Library Foundation works to raise funds, enhance early literacy programs, and inspire community engagement so that all children can discover the wonder of books through Noyes Children’s Library. The Foundation is a grassroots nonprofit founded in 1991 to raise funds for the historic Noyes Children’s Library, a specialized branch of Montgomery County Public Libraries in Kensington, Maryland. The all-volunteer Foundation has grown to support the library’s mission in many ways, and now, in cooperation with Montgomery County, the Foundation is leading the Make MORE Noyes Renovation Campaign to make Noyes universally accessible, while expanding its space and early literacy mission. For more information, go to noyeslibraryfoundation.org.
StoryWalk® is a registered trademark of Anne Ferguson.
Second Noyes StoryWalk® Paid Tribute to Groundbreaking Author
The Noyes Children's Library Foundation celebrated winter, Black History Month, and the power of creativity with its Second StoryWalk®, treating families to an outdoor reading of The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats during February and March, 2021.
The self-guided, socially distanced Noyes StoryWalk® wound through the grounds of Warner Circle Park, a spacious area adjacent to Noyes Library for Young Children (10237 Carroll Place, Kensington, MD 20895). The Snowy Day StoryWalk®, presented in collaboration with Montgomery Parks, featured both the English and Spanish versions of the book posted on spaced apart signs, and included interactive suggestions tied into the book to encourage families to get some exercise on their outing.
Said Linda E. Johnson, President & CEO of Brooklyn Public Library: "Ezra Jack Keats forever changed children’s literature and the lives of countless young readers when he depicted an African-American boy playing in an urban environment in The Snowy Day. For decades, Keats gave a voice to youth who were underrepresented in children’s books and worked tirelessly to promote literacy. Drawing inspiration from his childhood spent in Brooklyn, he became one of the world’s most important children’s authors and illustrators, and to this day, his delightful imagination and vivid artwork continue to captivate audiences."
The Second Noyes Storywalk® brought dozens of families to Warner Circle Park, even while the weather in the region lived up to the wintry illustrations in The Snowy Day!
First Noyes StoryWalk® a Huge Success
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The first Noyes StoryWalk®, presented by the Noyes Children’s Library Foundation in January, featured The Mitten by Jan Brett in store windows in Kensington, MD. Hundreds of children enjoyed reading the book while walking through historic downtown Kensington. Free craft kits were made available in front of Noyes Children's Library - the kits disappeared quickly as families made their way from the StoryWalk® to the Library each weekend! A long-time friend of Noyes donated a copy of The Mitten with Jan Brett's autograph and a fun sketch. The Foundation invited its Instagram followers to enter a drawing for the book by tagging two friends, and the winner was drawn before The Snowy Day StoryWalk® began on February 6th. The Foundation thanks Edelman for the Outreach Grant that makes the Noyes StoryWalk® program possible, as well as the Town of Kensington, MD. The Foundation also sends a big shout-out to all of the Kensington businesses who participated, in some cases designing their window displays around The Mitten and children's books! Participating Businesses: Frankly Pizza, Potomac Sweets, Kensington Row Bookshop, G&G Antiques, Adah Rose Gallery, GIGS Studio, Bonjour Books DC, SW7, deliClub, Goldsborough Glynn Antiques, Sally Shaffer Antiques, Pink Dot, Modern Mobler, M&T Bank, Jubilee Association of Maryland. Thank you! |
