Books (and cupcakes) of Wonder

Hello!!

I know I have been a bit remiss in my book reviewing. There are many reasons for this, to be sure- I am homeless and I don't have a computer, those are the first two. And, as you might imagine, I spend the majority of my time trying to solve those problems, or eating, or rollerblading, or looking a large bodies of water in silent reflection.

THANK GOODNESS, then, for Books of Wonder! When the World feels like a bull and I feel like I am barely astride it, this children's bookstore at 18 W.18th street in Manhattan serves as a pair of enormous sturdy horns to grasp onto. Most of the time I go there by myself to read books for a few hours, though I try to arrange for social or buisness meetings to occur at the store as well, so as to both increase the time I spend there and spread the joy to others!

 

The store is not totally exhaustive- someplace like the Strand is bound to have titles that Books of Wonder does not- but they have an extensive collection nonetheless, the place is clean and kid-friendly, there's always some artwork hanging in the back and old, rare, collectible children's books locked away in glass cases. ALSO, it is also connected to the Cupcake Cafe, which has the most adorably upholstered tuffets and chairs (ladybug and leaf patterns- oh-my-god) and the sweetest little wooden tables, each of which is a different animal. There are 3 enormous can-can dancing (yes, turn on a switch and they dance) lady cupcakes above the counter area, there is of course milk, juice boxes, etc. for the kids. The cakes and cupcakes are just BEAUTIFUL. I recommend the mocha frosting, as the frosting is the best part, and I would take one of the cupcakes that are kept in the pretty little display box at room temperature, not one of the cold ones in the big display.

Seriously, if you ever have any time to kill,  get your tuchus over to Books of Wonder and the Cupcake Cafe. You could be sleeping in a box and playing tiddliwinks with the subway rats later that night and you would be as happy as a clam.

All my love
Arla