Harlem storybook walk brings beloved Christmas tale to life

HARLEM, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The story of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” is coming to life in Harlem.

You can find all the pages of the book – a familiar poem by Clement Clarke Moore that’s technically titled “A Visit from St. Nicholas” – scattered across town.

“What we’ve done is we’ve put pages from “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” in different storefronts, and you can read the book while you walk down the streets with your children or just yourself,” said Harlem Mayor Roxanne Whitaker.

READ IT YOURSELF:

• The storybook walk continues until Christmas. You can participate for free. Just start at Harlem Pharmacy and Gifts and follow the numbers in order.

Whitaker created a literacy council a couple of months ago with the goal of helping children improve their reading skills.

This storybook walk is one of the first ideas. She says she sent an email about it to Harlem’s businesses.

“There was no having to beg or anything,” she said. “The minute the email went out, I started getting responses, so I knew we had enough. I was worried we weren’t gonna have enough pages with all the businesses responding.”

Now, there are 21 stops, with different pages posted in their windows.

Whitaker hopes this helps businesses, too.

“We hope while you’re reading the book, you’ll peek and see what’s inside each of our businesses,” she said.

Sina Trotman took the walk with her two boys.

“It was great fun for them,” she said. “They’re just beginning to read, so it was a good exercise to get them to read and we had fun just going all over downtown Harlem.”

She’s proud of them for making it all the way.

“I also promised them ice cream afterwards, so there was additional motivation there,” she said.

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