HANOVER, N.H. (WCAX) – Two bookstores in the Upper Valley are once again partnering on a summertime tradition centered around some popular children\u2019s books. The \u201cWhere\u2019s Waldo?\u201d books come to life every summer with a scavenger hunt looking for the classic character. And the search for Waldo helps to build community.<\/p>\n
If you search hard enough, you\u2019ll spot him– one of 32 Waldos hidden in businesses throughout Norwich and Hanover.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can go to the place and they will give you a different stamp each time,\u201d explained Iris Wright, 6.<\/p>\n
The Wright family has made a lot of progress with their Where\u2019s Waldo passport.<\/p>\n
\u201cBookstores across the country apply to be part of it,\u201d said Allie Levy of Still North Books.<\/p>\n
The annual July event is sponsored by the book\u2019s publisher, Candlewick Press.<\/p>\n
For the last several years, Still North Books in Hanover and the Norwich Bookstore have teamed up for the hunt.<\/p>\n
\u201cCompeting bookstores often see each other more as collaborators. The more people reading, the better for all of the independent bookstores,\u201d Levy said.<\/p>\n
But it doesn\u2019t just benefit the bookstores; it helps all the businesses where Waldo might be hidden.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gives a chance for kids and families to go explore the businesses in their local community,\u201d said Tess Holbrook of the Norwich Bookstore. \u201cAnd they just love taking Waldo from the page to the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been getting us out. It\u2019s been getting us into new stores we wouldn\u2019t typically go in,\u201d said Olivia Wright of Cornish, New Hampshire.<\/p>\n
For Iris Wright, it\u2019s also letting her hone in on her seeking skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo look very hardly instead of very softly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n