*Note: There will be links to books in this post. Because I support local businesses, love supporting kidlit creators the best way I can, and think Amazon is a bully, I will never put links here to their site. I will never earn money from linking to them because I think it’s better to be a good book citizen and point people to indies. If you like what I do and want to support me, you can on patreon! Okay, on to the post!*
This weekend we took our first road trip from Northern VA (where we just moved) to Syracuse, NY (where my in-laws live). It’s around 6 hours, but when we stop to eat and get gas, it’s really more like seven.
We headed up on Friday night and made it about two hours until Rosemary had to go potty. After we used the restroom at the rest stop I was looking through the brochures and came to a stop when I found one that said BOOKS!
Three stories of used and new books?
We knew we had to stop on the way back.
And we did!
It was a great way to split up our trip; it’s about four hours from Syracuse and the first stop that we made.
Rosemary was unnaturally tired so slept most of the drive, and I read FIVE chapters of Harry Potter aloud to Danny so we could finish HALF BLOOD PRINCE (only one more HP book to read aloud to Danny! He’s never seen the last movie or read the last book, so I’m really excited!)
Anyway, we stopped and enjoyed our time at the bookstore!
There was a ton of construction going on in the street outside, but inside the place was calm, airy, and inviting. Tables were filled with great books to browse, and there are three different floors you can explore and MANY MANY sections to browse!
Predictably we spent the most time in the kids section, which also was next to the cooking section.
The art in the kid’s section was AWESOME! Take a look at some of it!
Rosemary had a BLAST playing with the toys!
and I enjoyed looking around at the new and used books on display. 
We were looking for something for dinner so we skipped by their cafe, but it looked awesome!
What a fun break to our road trip.
Want to see what I got?
Of course I had to get this shirt for Rosemary, because she is the ultimate bookworm.
I’d seen THE UNSUNG HERO OF BIRDSONG, USA around the internet for a while
and was surprised to find it used, so I scooped it up!
PRESIDENT OF THE WHOLE FIFTH GRADE looked really fun,
and when I read the back I knew i had to grab it.
I’m a sucker for a nonfiction table, and when you tell me there are nonfiction sale books? I AM THERE.
I’d had my eye on BORED AND BRILLIANT for a while and flipping through I was happy to see there are lots of tips and actionable steps you can use/implement to let more boredom into your life!
And writers talking about creativity and writing is something I will NEVER tire of reading about,
so LIGHT THE DARK had to come home with me too.
Picked up some paperbacks as well:
RHYME TIME AROUND THE DAY is a collection of fun poems all around times of day.
THE BALLAD OF VALENTINE is a Valentine’s book that is set to the time of Oh My Darling Clementine. I love finding these paperback treasures and I particularly love books that you can sing!
DEAR BUNNY: A BUNNY LOVE STORY I picked up for a friend
who has some bunnies who like to write letters too.
While Rosemary was playing trains in the cookbook section, I came across this one:
DOUBLE DELICIOUS. We have the first book she she wrote and LOVE the recipes, so I thought it would be wise to get this one too!
There you have it!
If you are ever in Harrisburg, PA, you should check out the Midtown Scholar. If you’re not going to travel there anytime soon, at least you can hang out with them on Instagram and see what they’re all about!
until next time,
KE
