SerpApi.Org
North Texas families looking for a fun way to end the summer should head to Grapevine.
Both Talking Animals Books locations in Grapevine are participating in Find Waldo Local, a scavenger hunt event started by Independent publisher Candlewick Press and The American Booksellers Association.
The event is simple enough: It’s a real-life version of the popular “Where’s Waldo?” book series. The month-long event is hosted nationally every summer by participating bookstores, in partnership with local businesses who keep a cutout of Waldo that people can find in the store. Folks have until July 31 to find all the Waldos.
“It’s a fun thing for us all to communicate with each other,” said Katy Lemieux, co-owner of Talking Animals Books. “The businesses in Grapevine are all pretty tight-knit, and we work together a lot.”
Lemieux said events like these are important for towns - especially those that are walkable, like Grapevine - so that small businesses can be highlighted.
This year, Talking Animals has 36 businesses taking part in the scavenger hunt. Those who want to play can pick up a passport from the bookstore. Once participants collect at least 10 stamps from the businesses, they are eligible to get a sticker and poster from Talking Animals
Lemieux said people get excited about Find Waldo Local because of how recognizable the character is. The event also leads to a lot more “Where’s Waldo?” books being purchased.
“Parents like them as collectors’ items, but they also have fond memories from when they were kids, and when they read ‘Where’s Waldo?’ books,” Lemieux said. “So, it’s kind of one of these things that has stood the test of time, and people just enjoy it for the simplicity of it.”
Once someone has found all the Waldos, they can return the passport and are entered into a drawing to win a pack of Waldo books, activity books and other items that the publishing company gives away.
Talking Animals has held the event for three years and is one of 325 independent bookstores participating this year. They have already given out hundreds of passports to participants.
More about Talking Animals in Grapevine
Lemieux and her business partner Valerie Walizadeh opened the original Talking Animals store in 2023 at 103 W. Worth St. in Grapevine. In 2025, they expanded by opening a larger store at 909 S. Main St. Ste 104, just a few intersections away.
The original store caters to families and children and hosts regular story times and other events. D Magazine named them the Best Bookstore for Kids in its Best of Big D 2025 issue.
The new location has a coffee shop and more room for books, author events and genre book club meetings that are hosted at the store.
“The expansion really allowed us to have both of those things,” Lemieux said. “One, which is more space and more room for people to just physically be in the store and not feel like they’re on top of each other, but also to bring back the family part of the first bookstore, which was really central to what Valerie and I wanted to accomplish.”
Not only does the bookstore have book clubs, it also rents out a space in the back for private clubs to host events.
“It really makes it a two-fold endeavor for us,” Lemieux said. “Which is providing the books but also providing the coffee shop experience as well.”
Talking Animals will also participate in the North Texas Indie Bookstore Crawl in August, which is expected to be the “largest regional book crawl” in Texas.
“We were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm for last year’s inaugural Crawl,” Lemieux said in a press release. “We chose August because it is relatively slow for sales at the end of summer, and we all saw huge increases in revenue during August 2025. Independent bookstores aren’t competitors, we’re truly collaborators. Every bookstore has its own personality, its own specialties, and its own community. It was so fun to see everyone traveling across the Metroplex to get their stamps and shop.”
