Bringing Home the Books

We do this. Thrift stores. Garage sales. Library book sales.
And it's almost better than Christmas.

It was like that on Thursday. We were up early. These boys had eaten breakfast, fixed their beds, and were impatiently waiting for me in the car by 7:30. It was the day of the local library's book sale, which started at 8:00. This one was a little different for us because some friends that we meet with during the school year for art would be making nearly an hour's drive to join us. Two things kept Joshua a little on edge in the back seat: 1) the featured books for this sale were war and military, surely a treasure-trove for a boy who had $11 in his pocket, and 2) his good friend from church threatened to beat him to the Garfield section. And wouldn't you know, as we waited to make a left turn at the stop sign in town, the green van carrying this certain friend drove right past.

We followed their green van all the way to the sale- the whole, long, 15 minutes. When we arrived, the lot was full except for the farthest parking spot from the door, which we claimed, and the green van pulled up closer by parking on the street. Before we could go in, we had to stop at the depository at the side of the building to drop off the stacks of books we had checked out several weeks ago. The book sale was held in the basement and the library itself did not open for another two hours.

When we turned the corner, the line of eager readers that had been waiting for the door to open was moving forward. Much to Josh's dismay, our friends were ahead of us.

Once down the stairs, Joshua took a basket for himself and quickly made his way, Samuel tagging behind, to the room where the children's books are shelved. I did not. I have been to these sales many times and find the basket only gets in the way. The ladies at the money tables will kindly put your books in a box with your name on a slip of paper and keep them while you continue to shop. I find it easier to make a couple trips to the table and my box than to lug a basket of books.

 The sale is divided into four adjoining rooms. The books are on shelves and tables and carts and the walking space between is very narrow.  The traffic is slow and often stalls as we meander over titles and flip through pages, because you can't judge a book by its cover. This I know.

I found a wonderful treasure at my favorite thrift store in town that may have been missed by many simply because of the cover. The book was a hardcover. The original paper cover that sits between the clear plastic jacket and the book was missing. In its place was white paper on which a child had drawn a picture and written the title in crayon, Daniel Boone. My interest was piqued and I opened the book. Much to my surprise and delight, it was the out-of-print version by James Daugherty!!  Also, just so happens that we would be reading about him for our history studies this year---must have been a God thing!

 With so many people passing between the rooms, I didn't even bump into any of our "group" until I was almost ready to take my treasures home. Joshua found me a couple of times, excited just to show me what he "found". Other than two new Hardy Boys, his basket was full to the top with military books-- $10.75 and hours of enjoyable and educational reading. For Sam we found another Frances book and classic Winnie the Pooh. My treasures included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Grandma Moses, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. Garfield didn't make it to this sale. I think maybe Jon made lasagna.

After a busy day of books and art and friends, comes the quiet.

And this is why we bring home the books.