Illustration of a curious bug peaking in from the corner seeking a storytelling event to spark creativity and courage.

A Storytelling Event That Sparks Imagination, Empowers Kids, and Invites Them to Shape their Story

Join author and Bug & Bear Press founder Rebecca Young for a nationwide tour of interactive storytelling events where kids don’t just listen—they help shape what comes next.

This is not your average storytimes: this is a storytelling event!
Imagination-first. Hands-on. Adventures that bring kids face-to-face with
creativity, courage, and co-creation.

Whether your child is a writer, a doodler, a dreamer, or a chaos-loving idea machine, they’ll leave this event with color on their fingers and a story in their head.

From spark to sentence, we turn reading into authorship
—and storytelling events into something unforgettable.

Bug & Bear Appearances (Events)

Find an Interactive Storytelling Event Near You

Illustration from The Story Shapers showing Bart, the mouse, sitting at a desk with a quill, surrounded by the characters he once rejected—now cheering him on. Bart winks at the reader, breaking the fourth wall and inviting them into the story.

Story Shapers Experience | Rapid City Public Library

Rapid City Public Library

June 30

Time

5:00 pm

7:00 pm

Looking for a Rapid City Storytelling Event that is more than just Storytime?

Join Bug & Bear Press founder Rebecca Young at the Rapid City Public Library for a hands-on experience that puts kids’s ideas at the center of the next story.

The Story Shapers Experience brings you Interactive Storytelling and so much more.

This isn’t a sit-and-listen kind of day.
It’s a creativity-fueled, imagination-first, storytelling adventure that lets young minds create alongside the author.

At each stop, you’ll find a colorful blend of books, creativity, and co-creation:

🖍️ Live read-alouds from the Bug & Bear adventures
🧠 Mini Creativity Challenge workshops that spark imagination
📬 Postcard Station: Stories Start Here!
🧵 The legendary Traveling Cape—and new community capes at every stop

This isn’t your average storytelling event.
It’s part performance, part creativity lab, part choose-your-own-adventure.

Whether your kid is a writer, a doodler, a talker, or a chaos-loving idea machine, they’ll leave this event with color on their fingers and a story in their head.

Bismark Veterans Memorial Library

July 2

Time

2:00 am

3:30 am

Looking for a Storytelling Event in Bismark that is more than just Storytime?

Join Bug & Bear Press founder Rebecca Young at the Bismark Veterans Memorial Library for a hands-on experience that puts kids’s ideas at the center of the next story.

The Story Shapers Experience brings you Interactive Storytelling and so much more.

This isn’t a sit-and-listen kind of day.
It’s a creativity-fueled, imagination-first, storytelling adventure that lets young minds create alongside the author.

At each stop, you’ll find a colorful blend of books, creativity, and co-creation:

🖍️ Live read-alouds from the Bug & Bear adventures
🧠 Mini Creativity Challenge workshops that spark imagination
📬 Postcard Station: Stories Start Here!
🧵 The legendary Traveling Cape—and new community capes at every stop

This isn’t your average storytelling event.
It’s part performance, part creativity lab, part choose-your-own-adventure.

Whether your kid is a writer, a doodler, a talker, or a chaos-loving idea machine, they’ll leave this event with color on their fingers and a story in their head.

Illustration from The Big Garden Gig showing a group of ants waving flags and shouting through a megaphone, rallying for Bug and Bear to join the garden party team.

James River Valley Library

July 3

Time

2:00 pm

3:30 am

Join author and Bug & Bear Press founder Rebecca Young for a hands-on, imagination-first experience where kids don’t just read the stories—they learn how to help shape what comes next.

At each stop, you’ll find a colorful blend of books, creativity, and co-creation:

🖍️ Live read-alouds from the Bug & Bear adventures
🧠 Mini Creativity Challenge workshops that spark imagination
📬 Postcard Station: Stories Start Here!
🧵 The legendary Traveling Cape—and new community capes at every stop

This isn’t your average storytime.
It’s part performance, part creativity lab, part choose-your-own-adventure.

Whether your kid is a writer, a doodler, a talker, or a chaos-loving idea machine, they’ll leave this event with color on their fingers and a story in their head.

Illustration from The Should Sorter showing Billy—now fully transformed into Bug—flying a red airplane through a storm of “shoulds” like toys, clothes, and tasks.

The Story Shapers Experience!

Grand County Public Library Teen Center

June 17

Time

6:30 pm

8:00 pm

Looking for for a children’s storytelling event in Moab that’s more than just storytime?

Join Bug & Bear Press founder Rebecca Young at the Grand County Public Library Teen Center for a hands-on experience that puts kids’s ideas at the center of the next story.

The Story Shapers Experience brings you Interactive Storytelling and so much more.

This isn’t a sit-and-listen kind of day.
It’s a creativity-fueled, imagination-first, storytelling adventure that lets young minds create alongside the author.

At each stop, you’ll find a colorful blend of books, creativity, and co-creation:

🖍️ Live read-alouds from the Bug & Bear adventures
🧠 Mini Creativity Challenge workshops that spark imagination
📬 Postcard Station: Stories Start Here!
🧵 The legendary Traveling Cape—and new community capes at every stop

This isn’t your average storytelling event.
It’s part performance, part creativity lab, part choose-your-own-adventure.

Whether your kid is a writer, a doodler, a talker, or a chaos-loving idea machine, they’ll leave this event with color on their fingers and a story in their head.

Illustration from The Story Shapers showing two parrots reporting “Breaking News” from a desk—the illustration is drawn in the style of a childs crayon drawing and on crumpled paper—representing discarded creative ideas brought back to life.

Dillon Public Library Summer Reading Kick-Off

Dillon Museum Depot

June 5

Time

10:00 am

12:00 pm

The Bug & Bear Press National Story Shapers Experience is rolling across the country this summer—and it just so happens they’re making our first “official” stop at the Dillon Public Library’s Summer Reading Kick-Off!

Meet children’s book author Rebecca Young and explore The Story Shapers Experience—a creative, kid-powered adventure where readers help shape the future of storytelling.

🖍️ Live read-alouds from all of the Bug & Bear adventures
🧠 Story-shaping challenges for curious minds
🎨 Crayon stations, character prompts, and cape-worthy creativity
📸 A quick photo op with Bartholomuse’s Traveling Cape
📬 Stories Start Here Postcard Prompts

Come say hi, shape a story, and celebrate the Summer Reading Kick-Off with the Dillon Public Library.

A car with characters Bug, Bear and Bart driving through a crayon-drawn countryside.

The Story Shapers Experience + Faye's Foil Launch Party!

Idaho Falls Public LIbrary: Meeting Room One

May 31

Time

2:00 pm

4:00 pm

Come celebrate the launch of Faye’s Foil and the national debut of The Story Shapers Experience—a new kind of storytelling adventure where kid’s don’t just read picture books… they help shape what comes next.

Join author and founder Rebecca Young as she kicks of her cross-country tour right here at the Idaho Falls Public Library—as she celebrates the release of the newest Bug & Bear adventure—Faye’s Foil—the first co-created book representing a whole new storytelling movement.

🖍️ Live Read-Alouds of The Story Shapers and Faye’s Foil and 
🎭 Interactive story-shaping activities for kids
🎨 Cape creation stations + crayons for days
💌 The Story Starts Here Postcard Prompts
📚 Book signing, community creativity, and a few fun surprises

Whether you’re 5 or 55, this is a launch party for anyone who believes stories are stronger when we shape them together.