HANOVER, N.H. (WCAX) – Two bookstores in the Upper Valley are once again partnering on a summertime tradition centered around some popular children’s books. The “Where’s Waldo?” books come to life every summer with a scavenger hunt looking for the classic character. And the search for Waldo helps to build community.
If you search hard enough, you’ll spot him– one of 32 Waldos hidden in businesses throughout Norwich and Hanover.
“You can go to the place and they will give you a different stamp each time,” explained Iris Wright, 6.
The Wright family has made a lot of progress with their Where’s Waldo passport.
“Bookstores across the country apply to be part of it,” said Allie Levy of Still North Books.
The annual July event is sponsored by the book’s publisher, Candlewick Press.
For the last several years, Still North Books in Hanover and the Norwich Bookstore have teamed up for the hunt.
“Competing bookstores often see each other more as collaborators. The more people reading, the better for all of the independent bookstores,” Levy said.
But it doesn’t just benefit the bookstores; it helps all the businesses where Waldo might be hidden.
“It gives a chance for kids and families to go explore the businesses in their local community,” said Tess Holbrook of the Norwich Bookstore. “And they just love taking Waldo from the page to the real world.”
The Wrights have just one more Waldo to find before turning the page on the hunt. They still have a few more days to go.
“It’s been getting us out. It’s been getting us into new stores we wouldn’t typically go in,” said Olivia Wright of Cornish, New Hampshire.
For Iris Wright, it’s also letting her hone in on her seeking skills.
“To look very hardly instead of very softly,” she said.
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