Good Stuff Cheap

I'm talkin' 'bout Ollie.   If you have an Ollie's in your neck of the woods, count yourself lucky.   Their website sometimes shouts at you, but be brave see if you are within driving distance of a store.


I just accidentally spent two hours there.   What was first an Apple & Eve juice run, turned into a book buying extravaganza, and the soundtrack didn't help me exit.   Every last song that came over the speakers was a good time.   I finally had to head to the check-out during "Tutti-Frutti," but it's no reflection on the great Little Richard.

Most of Ollie's book collection is hit or miss, but the children's zone is always chock full of awesomeness.   Most days, I don't let myself browse, but I did today.   One of my favorite finds was an illustrated book containing Bob Dylan's lyrics to the song he wrote for his son Jacob, "Forever Young."   There was only one copy left.   Sorry about that!

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John Carter Cash penned a tribute to his mom called Anchored In Love.  

He now has a children's book called Momma Loves Her Little Son.  

The illustrations are sweet and warm.

Jazz was there too.  

Paul Rogers sure knows how to turn music into visual art.



Pop right on up in here, Count D!



Dracula appears in a graphic novel format.  
If you hold this book in front of a mirror,
 illustrated vampires will appear...backwards!

Believe it!

There was also a sweet Poe riff,

and a dog who loves to travel,

and a way to visualize what a million looks like,



and a man in a funny hat.

I like to keep a mess of illustrated "children's" books in my classroom.   A voracious reader myself, I like a break from the black and white of most books written for people my age.   Art tickles a part of my brain that nothing else can reach.   And you will quickly find that some books that look like they are for kindergartners are not meant for them at all.  

Shortish, illustrated books are a relaxing way to build prior knowledge or cultural literacy.   They can also take a complex topic, break off a tiny bite-size piece and present it in an engaging, meaningful way.  

No one's afraid of books that look like they were plucked from a child's toy box...no one.