Dad Blogs Aggregator: Where the Wild Books Are

What does every kid love?

Because I am the TA's dad (and she is my TA), I want to say that she loves books.

And the TA would no doubt agree she adores books. Lots of 'em. And preferably scattered everywhere. Books at bedtime. Waterproof books in the tub. Coloring books in the diaper bag. Board books underfoot in the kitchen.

But who is kidding whom?

The truth is that TA's one true love is not books, but stairs. Lots of stairs. Stairs to go up. Stairs to come down. Stairs to run toward with open arms. Stairs to stare at lovingly before ascending and descending infinitum.

But because I'm the Dad, we started our day not in pursuit of stairs, but in pursuit of books. And when it comes to books, Barefoot Books, in Cambridge MA, is probably the coolest bookstore on the planet. Titles like Alligator Alphabet, Counting Cockatoos, Zoe and Her Zebra, and, of course, Bear's Busy Family are staples of the TA's expanding library. Although maybe exploding library would best explain the scene in her room. Let's just say the Dewey decimal system is nonstarter.

Barefoot Books is street level (i.e., no stairs), but she was thrilled all the same.

The TA runs wild through the offerings of Barefoot Books.
For whatever reason, she kept grabbing titles in Spanish
and asking me to read them to her.
What did I do?
El punto en cuadros y arregla cosas!
(Point at pictures and make things up!)

In the end, we bought Yoga Pretzels for the TA to share with Mama, and some African Wildlife Finger Puppets for her to pass the time en route to our next stop.

The venerable Grolier Poetry Book Shop in Harvard Square is renowned both for being the oldest bookstore in America devoted exclusively to poetry and for its epic struggles to remain open. The public may be indifferent to poetry, but Grolier is a hidden jewel.

Spacious as a phone booth, but boundless in her offerings, Grolier is worth the trip from anywhere on the planet. We discovered a copy of Rodney Jones' "The Kingdom of the Instant" and were on our way. Later, I read some poems to the TA, while she provided interpretation with assistance from Ms. Giraffe and Mr. Lion.

The next stop was Harvard Yard. It's a short walk across the street, and it gave me an excuse to cut the TA loose for a romp.

Legend has it the Widener Library contains 53 miles of books.
This might make Dad's book-loving heart go pitter-pat,
but the TA had other plans.

With an immediate about face, the TA bolts for the Memorial Church

There are few books in a church (actually, just one).
But for the TA, it was all about the stairs.
Twenty-five minutes of her go up and down unmercifully hard granite steps wore me out.
I tossed her in the backpack, and we wandered towards the Barker Center.

Helen Vendler's office.
It's not every day you can introduce your toddler to a living legend.
Organic chemist. Mathematician. Keats scholar.
The first woman offered an instructorship at Harvard.
Introducing the TA to as many accomplished independent
women as possible can only help.
Unfortunately, she wasn't home.
I wasn't sure what we were going to do if she was home.
Maybe just wave and ask her to sign the TA's
backpack copy of "The Runaway Bunny."

The next stop was Curious George Goes to Wordsworth.
The monkey, of course, needs little introduction.

Of course, the TA simply ignored the books
and insisted instead on walking up and down the stairs
for the next 20 minutes.
(All the while, liberating random monkeys from their pails.)

All in all, it was good trip, but I've been mulling over some possibilities for our next jaunt into the world.