Butterfly Stacker by Melissa and Doug

This charming wooden butterfly stacker is a classic activity sure to flutter into your toddler's heart. With eye-catching colors and patterns and four removable pieces to mix and match on the wooden base, this vertical puzzle and stacking toy will promote key early-learning skills while inspiring lots of fun!

Retail Price $9.99

Elliot White Springs' WWI Correspondence

Ranked among the top five American flying aces of World War I, Elliot White Springs (1896-1959) was credited with shooting down twelve enemy aircraft during his tour in France. In the postwar years, he was a prolific writer whose nine books include War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator, a classic air combat narrative. After his father's death in 1931, Springs inherited Springs Mills and quickly became one of South Carolina's most innovative and successful textile mill owners. Edited by David K. Vaughan, this engaging collection of Springs's wartime correspondence follows the derring-do of an accomplished World War I fighter pilot before he became one of the best-known tycoons in modern South Carolina history.

Following enlistment at Princeton University, Springs was sent to England, where he trained with the Royal Flying Corps and joined the prestigious British 85 Squadron, commanded by Canadian ace William "Billy" Bishop. Springs had earned four kills before being wounded in a crash landing in June 1918. On return to duty he transferred to the 148th Aero Squadron of the U.S. Army, where he remained for the next four months. By the end of the war, Springs had amassed eight more kills and was awarded the British Distinguished Flying Cross and the American Distinguished Service Cross.
Because of his unique career as a pilot in both British and American flying squadrons, Springs was able to offer especially colorful descriptions of his flight training and aerial combat experiences from both perspectives. Grouped into sections according to his training and combat assignments, Springs's letters from his combat years are rife with the wit, bravado, and fatalism of a young aviator deeply enthralled with the wartime culture of England and France. His detailed accounts of dogfights bring readers into the action with all the vigor and danger of the era. In contextualizing this correspondence, Vaughan explores Springs's complex relationships with his father and young stepmother on the home front and maps the connections between Springs's firsthand experiences and his subsequent literary endeavors.

This collection highlights the thrills, tactics, and technical aspects of early air warfare from the candid perspectives of a brave young flyer with deadly aim, unflinching nerves, and a prosperous future waiting for him back in his native South Carolina.

Splat the Cat Big Reading Collection

Splat the Cat is back with five hilarious I Can Read adventures in a travel-ready carrying case with its own handle--that's better than fish sticks and ice cream!

This set includes:
Splat the Cat Sings Flat
Splat the Cat: Good Night, Sleep Tight
Splat the Cat and the Duck with No Quack
Splat the Cat Takes the Cake
Splat the Cat: The Name of the Game

From Garden to Grill to Fork

The Gardener & the Grill: The Bounty of the Garden Meets the Sizzle of the Grill
by Karen Adler and Judith Fertig

From garden to grill to fork, nothing tastes better than freshly harvested vegetables grilled to perfection alongside savory meats and plump grilled fruits. This book is the grilling guide for gardeners, seasonal eaters, and "flexitarians" everywhere, and anyone enamored of the powers of the grill. Keep the grill hot long after summer's finished with Planked Butternut Squash with Sage and Brie; Grilled Gazpacho; a Blackened Fish Po'Boy with Grilled Green Onion Mayonnaise; Pizza Primavera; Wood-Grilled Shrimp and Yellow Peppers; Tandoori Turkey Burgers: and Grill-Baked Apples with Cinnamon Nut Stuffing.

With seasonal recipes, tips on grilling for preserving, a burgeoning "griller's pantry" of rubs and versatile sauces, and more than 100 vegetarian recipes, this is the must-have resource for eager and experienced grillers and gardeners alike.

Learn to Forage for Food in Your Own Backyard

 

Foraged Flavor: Finding Fabulous Ingredients in Your Backyard or Farmer's Market    
by Tama Matsuoka Wong

Forage for wild food and discover delicious edible plants growing everywhere--including your backyard--and how best to prepare them to highlight their unique flavors, with this seasonally organized field guide and cookbook.

While others have identified in the past which wild plants are edible, Tama Matsuoka Wong, the forager for Daniel, the flagship restaurant of renowned chef Daniel Boulud, and Eddy Leroux, its chef de cuisine, go two steps further, setting the bar much higher. First, they have carefully selected only the wild plants that are worth seeking out for their fabulous flavors. Second, after much taste-testing, they have figured out the best way to prepare each ingredient--a key in getting to know these exciting new foods. In "Foraged Flavor, " they reveal their seventy-one favorite plants, which are easy to identify and can be harvested sustainably across the country (including at farmers' markets for those without access to nearby fields and forests). Tama helps readers uncover bright lemony oxalis growing in patches of their lawn or creeping jenny, with its unmistakable leaves and delicate green-pea flavor. Eddy then gives simple recipes to showcase the foraged finds, including Cardamine Cress with Fennel and Orange Vinaigrette; Braised Beef, Dandelion Leaves, and Clear Noodles; and Purslane Eggplant Caponata.

With twenty-five botanical illustrations, fifty color photographs of the plants, and tons of field- and kitchen-tested know-how, "Foraged Flavor" will be an indispensable guide for cooking enthusiasts.

Vivaldi's Masterpiece - for children!

Vivaldi's Four Seasons
Anna Harwell Celenza - author
Joann Kitchel - illustrator

Lyrical descriptions, a lush historical backdrop, and colorful artwork tell the story behind Antonio Vivaldis composition of The Four Seasons. He is inspired by his talented and determined students, young girl musicians at a Venetian orphanage. Together, they bring Vivaldis masterpiece to life. CD recording of Vivaldis Four Seasons included.

Anna Harwell Celenza received her Ph.D. in musicology from Duke University and is currently an assistant professor at Michigan State University.

Joann Kitchel received her B.A. in art education from Central Michigan University.

Everybody Loves a Little Magic!

We've just added Melissa and Doug's Discovery Magic Set to our children's section.

What child doesn't enjoy trying out new card tricks and other illusions on their family and friends?   This is the perfect set for beginners.

Abracadabra! This fantastic wooden set includes four easy-to-master tricks for beginners. Young magicians will improve their confidence and fine motor skills as they amaze family and friends with exciting tricks and illusions!  "Magic Jewel Box," "Color Changing String," "Chamber of Illusion" and "Sword in the Stone" are included. One of the few magic sets appropriate for children as young as six.

Anyone headed to college in your family?

We've been reading all of the tearful stories on Facebook of parents sending their children off to college for the first time.  No matter where your child goes it's a time of adjustment for the entire family!  Do you know anyone headed to The College of Charleston?  Here's a nice hardcover history of the nationally recognized school by Nan Morrison.

Founded in 1770, the College of Charleston has evolved over time, like the historic port city in which it is situated, to preserve the best elements of its heritage while growing to meet the challenges of the present and future. This history of the college in the modern era surveys its responses to the challenges of the civil rights era, its expansions during a period when enrollment grew from fewer than five hundred to more than ten thousand, and its developments in the midst of transformative changes in higher-education administration and funding.

From nearly closing its doors while resisting integration in the 1960s to its monumental growth during the 1970s to the 1990s, the College of Charleston remade itself several times while continuing to offer a high-caliber education in the sciences and humanities. In 1970 the college became part of the South Carolina state-sponsored higher-education system, which also includes the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, the Citadel, and other institutions. As a state school, the college expanded its facilities throughout the Charleston peninsula and across the Ashley and Cooper rivers as well. Now a robust university with a diverse student body seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees, the college maintains its hard-won reputation through enriching student experiences in classroom and laboratory instruction, enhanced curricula, and cultural opportunities offered by its historic host city.

"Knowledge itself is liberty," promises the seal of the College of Charleston. Now with nearly fifty thousand alumni representing all fifty states and more than seventy nations, the college continues to excel at graduating a manifold student body eager to realize intellectual potential through original inquiry and creative expression.

Enhanced with thirty-nine illustrations, this briskly paced narrative highlights the activities of students, faculty, and alumni over the last eight decades while also sharing stories of the events and personalities that have helped shape the modern history of the College of Charleston.

Recipes for burgers, sliders, sloppies, fries, and sides

The Queen of Burgers has drawn together her tastiest recipes for the ultimate between-the-buns experience. Whether you're cooking for one or for one hundred in your own backyard burger bash, "The Book of Burger" has you covered for bringing family and friends together for the love of burgers! Please 'em all--big and small--with everything from burgers to sandwiches, hot dogs, fries, sliders, and sloppies, and so much more.  Start with Rach's "Big Spicy Mac," tempting you from the cover, or go with the heavenly French Onion Burgers. And if beef isn't your thing, there are plenty of chicken, pork, salmon, veggie, and lamb patties. Want a mind-blowing sandwich? Whip up the BEST one Rachael has ever made: the 7-Hour Smoked Brisket Sandwich with Smoky BBQ Sauce. Rachael even shares her legendary pickle recipe and her own homemade burger blend. Want a fun, cute, tasty bite-size treat to pass around? Rachael is slider obsessed and you will be, too: try the Mexican Pulled Pork Sliders.  Rachael's friends from the New York and South Beach Wine & Food Festivals' Burger Bashes also contribute their award-winning recipes, including Bobby Flay's Louisiana Burger and Masaharu Morimoto's Kakuni Burger.  Twelve original videos (directly accessible by links throughout the text) make "The Book of Burger" a truly multimedia experience and a smart book that celebrates the infinite possibilities of everybody's favorite food.

Courtship Letters of a Southern Couple

Dearest Hugh: The Courtship Letters of Gabrielle Drake & Hugh McColl,
1900-1901             

Edited by Suzanne Cameron Linder Hurley  

Dearest Hugh offers a glimpse into what romance and marriage meant for a southern couple at the dawn of our modern age through a collection of some three hundred love letters exchanged between Gabrielle Drake and Hugh McColl from 1900 to 1901. Edited by Suzanne Cameron Linder Hurley, this correspondence illustrates the hopes and sacrifices of an upper-class couple forging a marriage in the small town of Bennettsville, South Carolina.

Hugh McColl was a cashier at the Bank of Marlboro, of which his father was president, when he began courting Gabrielle Drake, a schoolteacher and daughter of the clerk of court for Marlboro County. Most of their visits were chaperoned, but Hugh and Gabrielle could speak more freely in their correspondence and they exchanged notes--often two or three a day--detailing their private emotions, desires, and anxieties. The letters address equality within the relationship, Gabrielle's career, choosing and furnishing a home, and allocation of household chores. Hugh's letters are earnest, sincere, affectionate, and sometimes suggestive. His devotion to business and community is clear, as is his concern over being able to provide for a family. Gabrielle's writings are coquettish and playful, but she also anguishes over choosing between a career and a spouse. The attitudes expressed by both Hugh and Gabrielle also speak to the ambitious drive and community-minded dedication the McColls would later instill in their family, including grandson Hugh McColl, the former president and CEO of Bank of America.

Hurley's insightful introduction places the correspondence into the broader context of recent scholarship on courtship rituals and the changing educational and social status for women during this time in American life.    

What to do when you can't fall asleep?

What do you do when you can't fall asleep?  milk and cookies?  count sheep?  surf the internet?  browse on facebook?

Karina Wolf is a lifelong insomniac and a debut picture book author. Karina studied literature and film in New York, Paris and Dublin, and she works in television and film production. She lives in Manhattan with her dogs, Luca and Barry Manilow.

The wonder of nighttime comes to life in this breathtaking debut.  When the Insomniacs move twelve time zones away for Mrs. Insomniac's new job, the family has an impossible time adapting to the change. They try everything to fall asleep at night--take hot baths, count to one thousand, sip mugs of milk--but nothing helps. Venturing out into the dark, they learn there is a whole world still awake and a beauty in their new and unconventional schedule.

Ideal for bedtime reading, this gorgeous and lyrical story celebrates nighttime's mystery and magic.

Chunky Puzzles from Melissa and Doug

Toddlers will love to "horse around" with six favorite farm animals in this simple introduction to puzzle play. Extra-thick wooden puzzle pieces stand upright for kid-powered pretend play and nestle into the sturdy wooden puzzle board. Full-color pictures under the pieces make matching easy and fun.

As the train rolls through the countryside, toddlers will want to get on board with this chunky puzzle! Matching is made easy with full-color pictures beneath the pieces and the individual pieces can stand upright for imaginative play.

Chunky Puzzles from one of our favorite vendors - Melissa and Doug - 10.00 each

Clemson fans. . . .we've got something for you!

The Danny Ford Years at Clemson by Larry Williams - 19.99 - released July 10, 2012

The last time Danny Ford spit tobacco juice on a Clemson sideline was Dec. 30, 1989. Yet Ford has become more beloved as time has distanced the Tigers from the glory he orchestrated in eleven years as the team's football coach. It began in December of 1978 when a young, obscure offensive line coach took over a heartbroken fan base. It ended in January of 1990 under a cloud of controversy and mystery that has not yet been completely resolved. In between, Ford led Clemson on a wild and unforgettable ride. Award-winning sportswriter Larry Williams presents, for the first time in book form, the definitive story of Ford's complicated, compelling Clemson tenure.

Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

We need books.  Real live books.  Ones you can touch, hold, turn the pages. . .

Morris Lessmore loves words, stories and books; after a powerful storm carries him to another land, dreary and colorless, he finds a single book in color that leads him to an amazing library where, he learns, the books need him as much as he needs them.

The book that inspired the Academy Award-winning short film, from "New York Times"- bestselling author and beloved visionary William Joyce. Stunningly brought to life, this book is a modern masterpiece, showing that in today's world of traditional books, eBooks, and apps, it's story that we truly celebrate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtyJH599Q1c

Waldo Party Was a Huge Success! Thanks, Hartsville!

Check out all of our pictures on Facebook!  We had pictures with Waldo, Waldo trivia, Waldo poster search, Waldo Word a Thon, Pin the Glasses on Waldo, and lots and lots of prizes given away!  Thank you, friends, for searching for Waldo, shopping locally, and coming to our Waldo party!  Thank you, fellow merchants, for participating in the Waldo search!  Thank you for the door prizes you donated.  Children left with smiling faces and it was a wonderful morning!  Thank you, Candlewick Press, for celebrating Waldo's 25th Birthday with Burry Bookstore and downtown Hartsville!

Happy Birthday, Herman Melville!

Happy Birthday, Herman Melville!  We haven't forgotten you!

http://www.melville.org/hmobit.htm