Ready for an adventure in Downtown Lapeer?
From ponds and swamps to nests and hives, wildlife can be found all over Lapeer County, and now you can find it right in Lapeer’s Historic Downtown. Nature on Nepessing features 10 panels featuring colorful artwork of book-loving animals inspired by storybook characters.
Art panels are placed on both sides of Nepessing Street, from the Marguerite deAngeli Branch Library to the PIX Theatre. Use the clues on the panels to find all the animals. The scavenger hunt is designed to start and end at the deAngeli branch. Brave explorers who find all 10 animals can return to the deAngeli children’s area to get a Nature on Nepessing button as a souvenir. Nature on Nepessing makes a stroll through Historic Downtown extra fun for kids of all ages by using the clues to find each animal.
1. Start on Nepessing in a straight path you’ll go
Find a long-eared friend with a blue book in tow
2. A frog and a toad have a brick abode
The friends read in the flowers by a road
3. The next friend you seek is gray with a beak
They daydream of Lapeer cuisine all week
4. By a big white building with a top of shiny gold
You’ll find a furry friend reading a story untold
5. Time to cross near the PIX to see an alley of art
This masked friend holds a story dear in their heart
6. This upside-down friend is headed to the west
Be sure to look up, put your sights to the test
7. A wise feathered friend is flying nearby
In an alley with books, will one catch your eye?
8. A round-eared friend is near a well-known game
They read books on strategies to claim their fame
9. A Lapeer legend once paraded down the street
Move west to where genealogy and history meet
10. Journey to the building “Where Your Story Begins”
A place where all are welcome and where reading wins
Pick up a map at the Lapeer District Library's deAngeli branch or download your copy here.
Behind the Scavenger Hunt
The animals depicted in the panels were inspired by popular and beloved children’s book characters, including one well-loved chapter book that takes place in Lapeer, an elephant featured in Marguerite de Angeli’s Copper Toed Boots. de Angeli was a Newbery Award Winning Author, born in Lapeer in 1889. The deAngeli branch library was named in her honor and has an archive of her drawings, works, and life memorabilia.
Nature on Nepessing Inspiration
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Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
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If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
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Frog & Toad Together
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Bats at the Library
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A Bear Called Paddington
The classic novel about Paddington—who's now a major movie star!
Paddington Bear had traveled all the way from Peru when the Browns first met him in Paddington Station. Since then, their lives have never been quite the same . . . for ordinary things become extraordinary when a bear called Paddington is involved.
First published in 1958, A Bear Called Paddington is the first novel by Michael Bond, chronicling the adventures of this lovable bear. Paddington has charmed readers for generations with his earnest good intentions and humorous misadventures. This brand-new edition of the classic novel contains the original text by Michael Bond and illustrations by Peggy Fortnum.
Nature on Nepessing Collaborators
Nature on Nepessing was a collaboration between the City of Lapeer, The Lapeer Downtown Development Authority, and the Lapeer District Library. The artwork of Nature on Nepessing was brought to life by Lapeer local artist, author, illustrator, and librarian, Shelby Saelens.
