I find the majority of people purchase books on Amazon (myself included), but there are times when I love to browse in a bookstore. In my travels I’ve come across some awesome small bookstores that remind me why I love reading so much. Small, independent stores stock books I probably wouldn’t look at in a Barnes and Nobles because there is so much too look at. The hole in the wall stores narrow down their focus to books guaranteed to engage readers of all ages. Sadly, these small stores don’t exist in my part of New Jersey, so when I find one during my travels my husband knows to expect new books to come home with us.

As parents and educators, while it’s convenient to order books online from Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and Usborne Books & More, going to small bookstores allow kids to explore books in a quiet setting. They can interact with new books and genres, and spend a few quiet minutes reading a few pages to see if they like the book. Many of these small bookstores also offer story time and sell cute stuffed animals that make great book buddies. The people who work and own these stores are also extremely knowledgeable and clearly book lovers.

This past weekend wasn’t super hot in New Jersey, so we drove up to Peddler’s Village in Pennsylvania. We have gone there a few times, but never with Molly. I really wanted to get her a new toy and there was a toy store where we were headed called JaZams.

Never did I expect to fall in love with a store so much. While we looked at the toys, I noticed a few Usborne books and immediately got excited. They had a few educational books and a nice variety of sticker and activity books. This was one reason to love the store, but then we went to the other side where the books were located.

They had at least 100 boardbooks for little ones on all different topics that included classic and modern stories.  They also had the new Usborne Beauty and the Beast book
(that is gorgeous in person) and bathtub books.

At this point I was more excited than any young child in there, until I saw the section for toddlers-YA, which is when I wanted to move in. The bookshelves were filled and organized and nestled int he middle were two window seats for readers to utilize. As with the infant books, the children’s section had a great variety of classic and modern books. The decorations also promoted reading and added to the cozy atmosphere.

So while it is convenient and cheaper to buy books online, nothing beats the experience of going to a small bookstore.