New Bookstore

There is a new bookstore open in Hastings.

It's a real hodge podge. The guy is just getting settled in and disorder reigns. But it is loaded with books.

This book, Toads and Frogs, reads amazingly wells. We just found a large toad in our yard two days ago so the interest is high in our house.

I was impressed with how well written this 1942 pamphlet is.


I'm a big fan of Charlotte Mason's book Home Education. Two books that many Charlotte Mason fans recommend are Tanglewood Tales and Wonder Book, both by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I have no idea if the kids will like these books or if they are even old enough for them yet, but I was glad to find this copy on the shelves. I can look through it without having to spend a lot of money ordering it online. I'm sure a free copy could be found on the internet, but I find reading on my computer to be a little tedious. Now, if I had one of those new iPads, it would be easier.


My great-aunt Grace was a school teacher way back in The Day. When she retired, she brought home a couple of the readers she had used in her classroom. She gave them to me when I was a child and I enjoyed reading them. I found one of these Alice and Jerry readers when I was poking around on the shelves. This one was originally published in 1936, but this printing is from 1957. I'll have to check and see how old Aunt Grace's copy is, but it looks identical.


I also found this copy of Editha's Burglar by Frances Hodgson Burnett who also wrote The Secret Garden and A Little Princess. This copy is marked as being printed in 1899.


I also found a couple of children's songbooks. One is called Songs from Childhood from 1927, I think, and the other called The American Singer and the only date I can find in it is from 1948.

There were a couple of other books, but this is the majority of the haul. I was so glad to find these old, obscure books. So many wonderful books have gone out of print and are hard to find and yet I love to use them in our learning.

In other news, my father-in-law continues to do poorly. Please remember him in your prayers. This week will bring an appointment at Mayo in Rochester. We are hoping they have some ideas for treating his cancer. I haven't said much on this blog regarding that situation, but it dominates our thoughts these days. Thank you so much for your prayers.