Book Haven

Whenever I walk into my favorite bookshop, I feel like a character from Cheers. Everybody knows my name. They always have something interesting to share. The front window is beautifully painted, this month by Claudia McGehee. Staff picks on an endcap generate ideas for books to order for the library collection. Music plays softly. It is a haven for me.

As I talked with the staff about our upcoming book festival, a wee customer brought a box of fake food that can be "cut" for serving to the counter. She was quite articulate about her purchase, and hefted the box with a grunt to a staff member who needed to bend to take it from her.

My teaching partner and I perused new books this afternoon, read things we had been hoping to see (like Tom Lichtenheld's Cloudette - gosh, I love his humor), and admired all the new Ravensburger games and puzzles. The visit yielded a birthday gift for my first-grade neighbor, a paperback copy of Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Gingerbread, two copies of Margi Preus's new book Celebritrees, and one book my husband chose. I left contented...and went home to read.