Jan
26
2012

Who Says Books Aren't Technology?

Keep Our Secrets by Jordan Crane

It's a tumultuous time for the world of the printed book. With all the recent technology that has arrived in consumers hands along with the proliferation of e-books, the big question is what will happen to printed books in the near future. The discussion usually views the printed book as an outdated form of presenting a book. Something that is no longer advanced.

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Nov
28
2011

The Holiday season is fast approaching and many of you will be searching for the perfect gifts for the children in your life. Obviously we think that books are a great gift idea, so to help you narrow down the search we thought we would suggest some of our favourite titles for different age groups.

First up, here are some of our favourite board books for infants and toddlers.


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Sep
04
2011

Books For Expectant Parents

Some Special Gems You May Not Have Heard Of

Right now, as I am writing this post, a good friend of ours is in the middle of labour, expecting her third child (Hi Sandra!). As we've been waiting for this day, we've been thinking about some of our favourite books to give to expectant parents. Of course there is the old stand-by "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch and Sheila McGraw, but we aren't huge fans of it. Instead, we'd like to offer up these three alternatives that you may not have heard of.

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Aug
08
2011

Shiver Me Timbers! Pirates Ahoy!

A Fun Selection Of Pirate Themed Books

We've always found it odd that pirates have become such popular characters for children. Gone are the brutal realities of their exploits, replaced with funny little costumes and odd speech. We're not sure what has made this sanitized modern image of pirates popular, it's probably "Treasure Island" or the Disneyland "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride, but whatever the reason it is here to stay. Not only are pirates popular characters for Halloween costumes and Lego sets, but there are also some mighty fine picture books with pirate characters. Here are some of "arrrrr" favourites:

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Jun
20
2011

The Story That Taught This Book Snob a Lesson

Never Judge a Book by it's Cover (or it's Authors)

I will be the first to admit that I am a book snob. We have always operated our bookshop based on what we consider quality titles, books that everyone can enjoy reading; to the exclusion of ones we consider to be inferior. There's nothing worse as a parent than being stuck reading terrible books to your little one night after night after night. There's nothing that will discourage a child more, than reading something they don't enjoy. Having said that, we are also a business, so we try to carefully toe the line between what is popular and what it good.

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Apr
18
2011

Spotlight on Jon J. Muth

Books You'll Love As Much As Your Kids

For this entry in our "Spotlight On" series, we are focusing on the very talented artist and author Jon J. Muth.

Here are a few of our favourites that he both wrote and illustrated:

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Apr
11
2011

Are Books Becoming Obsolete?

How Tech Is Changing The Face Of Children's Books

As bookstore owners, we often get asked about our opinion on what will become of the printed book with the current shift to e-readers, apps, and digital books. While it is impossible for us (or anyone else for that matter) to predict what the near future holds, we do have a couple of things we would like to talk about.

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Mar
15
2011

Love You Forever – from creepy to classic

How personal experience can shape your love of a book

Drew here - for this post I'm going to commit what will essentially be children's-book-sacrilege. I might have to resign from being a bookstore owner after this one, but please hear me out.

I've recently had a bit of a hate/love relationship with the classic children's book "Love You Forever" written by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Sheila McGraw. It has led me to some interesting thoughts regarding emotional connections to books, especially children's books.

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