I enjoyed Tovah Yavin’s recent blog post “Helping Your Child Get Started – With Books!” so much that I wanted to build on it. Tovah recommends the Berenstain Bear series. I wholeheartedly agree. A friend lent me the entire set, and all my children devoured it. A whole set of books offers a special kind … Read more
When we think of fairy tales, most of us imagine fawns cavorting in the forest, bluebirds spinning Cinderella’s ragged dress into a beautiful ball gown, and cute bunnies all to the backdrop of uplifting music. And at the end of the story, there is a simple moral to be learned that everyone knows will contribute … Read more
As a child of the incredible ’90s and aughts (yes, that does make me a millennial), I have seen various things come and go—CDs to digital music, physical books to e-readers, and all that in between. The length of middle-grade books has also seen a significant change throughout the years. First, let us discuss what … Read more
An important part of being a community bookstore is hosting authors – emerging and established, and all of us in between. Playing host or hostess can be a great deal of fun. It also can be exhausting and often stressful. We plan these events to hopefully bring more people into the store. More importantly, I … Read more
This is a guest post by Open Books, click here for more information on submissions. Book it to the Open Books Store We’re all familiar with the well-known cultural destinations in the Windy City – the museums, Wrigley Field, Millennium Park — but there is one little-known gem in Chicago’s River North neighborhood that every … Read more
Finding desirous books can be quite serendipitous. For example, last Saturday at a very large book and ephemera show in Allentown PA, I found three titles I never dreamed of locating within a reasonable budget, and certainly not in person. Maybe through bookfinder’s ABE., or Biblio, but on a table or shelf right in front … Read more
At the annual New York Antiquarian Book Show, even the paper within a bookseller’s catalog, has a refined air. A fragrance if you will, of expensively printed sheets of paper, beautifully bound with my favorite illustration from In Powder and Crinoline by Kay Nielsen’s hand.Within its pages are detailed descriptions of tomes I’ve never heard … Read more
Originally, I had intended to write an article recounting my interest in American primers and first readers, along with Kathy McMillan’s influence and knowledge. I asked her a few questions, and she came back with an illustrated supremely interesting full article that I did not want to disturb with my newly acquired insights. It was … Read more
