Extra Extra

Both Jenni and I can get lost for hours in a bookstore. Since Grace came along, we can get lost for minutes. But that doesn't mean we can't introduce her to the incredible world of shelves and shelves of books.

So last week, we bundled up and headed out to our local Barnes and Noble. They're getting a lot harder to find nowadays when many of them closing. Man, I'm sounding old. When I was your age, we had bookstores, not all this buying books on the computer and reading them on your phone. Awww, fiddlesticks.

We went right to the kids section on the second floor, and then right to the pop-up books (since we didn't know how long Grace's attention span would last, figuring we also had a 20 minute walk home still in front of us).

I chose Cinderella because that's Jenni's favorite princess. Grace loved the bright colors and all the moving parts, especially Cinderella's shiny horse-drawn carriage.

But her favorite part was seeing Cinderella in her beautiful ball gown and glass slipper accessories. Seriously? Another fashionista in the family? Oh well, the smile is so worth it. (hers, not my cheesy grin)

By the way, Jenni and I stumbled upon a way to get free books. Dolly Parton is behind a reading initiative called the Imagination Library. Every month, they send an age-appropriate book, with no strings attached. We've got some really good ones that have become Grace's favorites. You can read about it, and sign up if your community is participating, here.  Happy reading!