Summer is here! While we could all do without this blazing heatwave, everything else that summer brings is a welcome sight. Downtown has been bustling and seems to only be getting busier. After the hard year we’ve had, I can’t help but smile seeing the happy energy in town this summer, even despite my occasional irritation with the Main Ave “traffic”.
One of the most enjoyable things about summertime at Maria’s Bookshop has been the steady stream of kids coming in to find new summer reads, birthday presents, or just to get a break from the heat. There’s a nearly constant giggle and chatter coming from the children’s room these days. Even as I write this, I’m also half-listening to the delightful sound of a kid somewhere in the children’s room haltingly sounding out a book.
Summertime offers daily opportunity for us to participate in one of the most fulfilling things we do at Maria’s: connecting kids with great books. There may be no better feeling than putting a book in a kid’s hands and seeing the excitement on their face as they start reading before they can even get out the door. It’s a particular joy to know that I was once that kid, in this very store, being handed books that would ultimately instill in me a love for reading that would change my life. If I can offer the same opportunity to even a single kid this summer, I’ll be perfectly content.
Thanks for reading. Until next time.
