Book Reviews

 

Crayons and Coloring Books Galore

 

If you are traveling or otherwise need something to keep your companions occupied, consider coloring books, including crayons, of course, or colored pencils or markers.

Pre-schoolers are not the only folk who might enjoy coloring.

Dover is a large company publishing thousands of titles, most of them at bargain prices.  Coloring books for all ages are one of Dover’s significant specialties and they have long been a popular item at The Book Loft. The store keeps a highly visible rack full, as well as spillover, packed into a bottom shelf, hard to see, but available for pawing through. Crayons, though, have been stocked rarely. But that has changed. 

Even though most families seem to always have a box or old coffee can of crayons at hand, it still made sense for The Book Loft to sell them.  And a half-hearted search for a source of supply for a good quality product has gone on for years. At last a breakthrough came.

To complement a superb selection of coloring books, suddenly we are able to offer colored pencils in a handy case, two choices of marker assortments and crayons in either boxes of 24 or 64. Let me draw your attention to those boxes of 24. 

We had ordered a carton of 24 boxes. However, right now the manufacturer is only offering it in cartons of 48. That’s what we got. In the meantime, our colleague who makes the periodic “toilet paper run” to a warehouse store and knows we often ask her to keep an eye out for crayons, noticed a great crayon deal on a carton of 24. She snatched it up and at checkout found it was even a better deal—the quantity was actually 48.

So, look for an August Dog Days special at The Book Loft.  While supplies last, customers who purchase two coloring books (the ones priced $3.95 and up) will get a free 24-count box of crayons.

 

An Old Family Anecdote

 

This reminds me… May I share a story about my late husband Gary, co-founder of The Book Loft and the real force behind development of both the used and rare book section and the H. C. Andersen Museum? 

The summer of 1956 found Gary in limbo—out of college but not slated for entry into the Air Force until September. Then a neighbor, salesman for the Morrell Meat Company, wangled him a short time summer job. Gary would be rotating around Morrell’s Nevada-Northern California territory as vacation relief salesman. This would be a new role for the recent electrical engineering, ROTC graduate whose previous employers included the power company and the state fish and game department.

He started in Las Vegas and we still have the postcard with its picture of 1950s era Vegas that he mailed to his parents.  It read:

 

“Had a good trip down and first day on the job went surprisingly smoothly. Took in the Strip Sat. nite and saw Ray Bolger at the Sahara and China Doll Revue at the Thunderbird. Meals are cheap—49 cents for ham and two eggs, $2 for excellent steak…”

 

Gary retained good memories of that summer, but the job didn’t always go smoothly.  Once he ordered a carton of Morrell hams. But instead of a carton, a carload showed up.  Gary quickly made the rounds of his stores in that territory, offering them a great deal on hams and somehow he got rid of the entire carload. Lots of ham specials were featured that weekend.