A quick post for a spring Friday. Picture a bouncing, running, thrilled-to-be-in-a-bookstore little boy, no more than three and a half, entering the store for the first time. He spies the... Read the rest of this post

Neither school vacation nor unexpected snowfall kept kids away from learning about salamanders with author Sarah Lamstein and naturalist Larry Clarfeld on Wednesday afternoon.When Sarah told... Read the rest of this post

Spring: it’s the season for out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new. Sunshine and bright air are invigorating, and there’s something about longer hours of daylight that make projects seem easier... Read the rest of this post

Bookstores and libraries can work together in a way that not only benefits all, but enriches all who attend. Yesterday, we sold books at the South Burlington Library annual Member’s Tea. The... Read the rest of this post

In case you missed it, there’s a great article by Sarah Mlynowski in yesterday’s Children’s Bookshelf called: The Future is on the Line: YA Novelists Send Tweets Back to Their High School... Read the rest of this post

No, Josie and I aren’t looking around for bookstore buyers, but if we were, a good place to start would be among the third-graders I visited on Tuesday. The Shelburne Community School nearby has... Read the rest of this post

Elizabeth and I realized the other morning that we let our one-year anniversary of being ShelfTalker bloggers go with nary a word. Well, we aim to remedy that.It has been a great year of writing... Read the rest of this post

Last night we ventured into the speed dating world, for books, not people. We hosted our first ever Eat Your Words Book Sneak Peak night at one of our favorite restaurants, Bistro Sauce, right in... Read the rest of this post

Here’s another installment of the 2010 children’s books that have received starred reviews from (in alphabetical order) Booklist, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, The... Read the rest of this post

As promised, I’ve got more birdhouses to share with you! This time I thought I’d demonstrate the fact that you can often get two good birdhouses out of one book.Both of the birdhouses you... Read the rest of this post

When sixteen-year-old Pheobe Prince hung herself after months relentless bullying earlier this year, many people were shocked. A lot of us didn’t know what to do. Two young adult authors, Carrie... Read the rest of this post

There are many bonuses to owning a bookstore in a small town. Everyone knows you, which can be lovely, but not when you’re in your sweatpants running to the mini-mart for butter and a young... Read the rest of this post

Every once in a while, a gem of a book arrives at the store. Last week such a gem was delivered in a Houghton Mifflin box, and the book in question is The Quiet Book. The sign for me that a book... Read the rest of this post

Last month I introduced you all to blogger and stay-at-home dad Stephan Lemon, who wrote about the fun he and his 5 year-old twin daughters had reading Pink Me Up! by Charise Mericle Harper. This... Read the rest of this post

There’s not much that an independent bookseller enjoys more than getting together with colleagues to discuss business and books. When New England Children’s Booksellers Advisory Council (aka... Read the rest of this post

Yesterday the NECBA (New England Children’s Booksellers Advisory Council) group met in Portland, Maine, and one of our main discussions focused on how to have summer reading programs that work.... Read the rest of this post

In addition to the many lovely children’s books about going green, we’ve been seeing some extremely appealing books that are themselves green: that is, books made of mostly recycled materials,... Read the rest of this post

Today’s post is, quite simply, an ode to the loveliness of being able to read out of doors. It is not normally 80 degrees in April in Vermont during Easter weekend. This glorious gift of sun... Read the rest of this post

It’s that time of year again, folks: BEA looms and there are some exciting (and sobering) new educational sessions in 2010; we’ve got the inside scoop. Conference rooms fill quickly, so we... Read the rest of this post

It’s that time of year again, folks: BEA looms and there are some exciting (and sobering) new educational sessions in 2010; we’ve got the inside scoop. Conference rooms fill quickly, so we... Read the rest of this post

Last week I sent an e-mail out to a couple hundred local teachers and librarians (those in my e-mail address book), in which I told them about our store’s upcoming events (next week = Gary... Read the rest of this post

It’s not just children who love the Easter Bunny. As  a bookseller, I’ve come to love the retail pop we get from this springtime holiday. The Easter holiday lends itself to bright displays of... Read the rest of this post

Every independent bookstore owner or manager must contend with self-published authors who want their book to be stocked by the store, and charitable groups seeking donations. There are different... Read the rest of this post

For anyone younger than 55, Sid Fleischman is an icon, his books part of the canon of the finest in American children’s storytelling. His marvelous stories are notable for their immense child... Read the rest of this post

The relationship between a store and the credit department of publishing houses is very important. Bookstores order books and it’s the credit department’s job to ensure that payments get made... Read the rest of this post