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.

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