Yesterday, Teresa tipped me off that on the edge of town alongside Alverno Heights Academy, she saw a sweet storytelling display. It’s so unusual, she told me, and said I might like to see it. Something parents walking with their children could enjoy together, she said. So, I wolfed down my morning muesli, put on my hat and drove to the school less than a mile away.

Following Teresa’s instructions, I went to the top of Wilson Street, but all I saw were parked cars and shady old pine trees. Then I walked up to what looked like a lonely yard sign, went closer and found that I was standing at the beginning of the book. I glanced down the sidewalk to see more yard signs spaced several yards apart all the way to the bottom of the block. Each sign was a page from “The Bad Seed,” a very cool children’s book by Jory John with great illustrations. Like an art installation, I knew it would not be there forever, so I snapped a photo of all 19 pages to read later at home (the last two pages were around the corner). Copyright laws prevent me from posting the entire book, but I’ve included a couple of pages – teasers for this cliffhanger.
An added pleasure was learning that this was an award-winning project by a local Girl Scout in partnership with the local library “…to promote literacy and the enjoyment of reading.”
“The Bad Seed” turned out to be a wonderful read with a valuable moral – a takeaway that even adults will like.
Very cool!