Look at these photos! We were all undeniably adorable and we were also all incredible bookworms! Here are some of our all-time favorite books from when we were kids. Take a look, relive those golden days of childhood, and check out our picks in-store on the green cube outside the kid’s room! Feeling nostalgic? Come on in and tell us about your most beloved stories!
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks - November 8th, 2011
This package consists of the first four books in Maud Hart Lovelace's beloved Besty-Tacy series, which follows two best friends (and their Crowd) from childhood through high school and into adulthood. These books are where it all begins, as a lifelong friendship is born at a little girl's 5th birthday party. I still read the entire series pretty much every year and I can never get enough. You will want to be friends with Betsy and Tacy too.
One of my very favorite childhood reads was All-Of-A-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor (for whom the Sydney Taylor Book Award is named!) It was one of the few books that had positive, fun, Jewish child representation and that wasn't an issue book. I loved that story about five sisters at the turn of the 20th century on New York City's Lower East Side--their sibling story, their silly hijinks, their family life, and their authentic Jewishness. I still have a copy on my office bookshelf!
Coming across this collection of dark poems for children was one of the first times I ever remember experiencing outright joy from reading. In fact, Nightmares is the only book I still own from my childhood. (Although, now it haunts my son's bookshelf.) It's also probably more than partly responsible for the horror nerd I am today. Eerie illustrations paired with fun macabre verse from the great Jack Prelutsky make this a memorable read for any little monster and just perfect for spooky season storytimes! Sleep tight!!!
*note: This is the photo Keaton provided. Any issues with accuracy must be taken up with Keaton.
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - April 1st, 2008
This was one of my favorite books when I was younger (I can still vividly picture the world that I created in my head!). It is also responsible for piquing my interest in stories that follow competitive, academia adventures. In this book, dozens of gifted children are called upon to take a series of mysterious tests. Only four children are inducted into the Benedict society. These four are sent on missions in which their intelligence, creativity, and friendship will be tested in order to succeed at the trials that they are given.
This is part of an adorable series of books based on the 1999 TV show, both of which I loved as a little girl. Maisy the mouse gets into wonderful adventures with her animal friends as they take on the world together. Looking back on them as an adult is extra heartwarming as Maisy is doing all the adult tasks I'm learning to do, and wearing cute dresses while doing them.
Piper McCloud can fly. Just like that. Easy as pie! This is a soaring tale of a farm girl who's just a little bit different. It's odd, it's sweet, it's one of my all time favorites! Just read the first page and tell me you're not in love. You just can't keep a good girl down!
This is the book that made me fall in love with reading. Heroic mice and the importance of stories and much much more. From start to finish it is full of adventure, wonder, and heart.
*Photo is of a young Patrick trying to sell homemade books from his driveway. So basically he was destined to become a bookseller.
We are so excited to announce our latest book club, On a Tangent Teen Book Club! On a Tangent Book Club is a virtual book club for teenagers age 13-18. Join fellow readers for a book club discussion facilitated by our Children’s and Teen’s Specialist, Laura.
We are so pleased to announce that Brazos will be returning to bi-weekly in person Story Times in September!
Please note that Story Time will look a little bit different from how we've previously run it. We will be unable to provide snacks and there will unfortunately be no craft, however we'll still have loads of fun reading and exploring fantastic books!
Face Masks are highly recommended for all adults and children over the age of 2.
One of our favorite things to do here in the Brazos Bookstore Treehouse is helping customers buy new picture books. Okay, we love helping you buy all books, but picture books are especially fun for us because we love them so much, for a variety of reasons from story to art to the delight of reading them aloud. Truly, we are in a Golden Age of picture books, with amazing books coming out every week!
Find him at 14 local businesses throughout the month of July!
HOW TO PLAY
Visit the local businesses listed below and find Waldo hiding in the store from July 1 - July 30.
Collect the store stamp on your passport every time you find him (passports available at all stores). Every collected stamp enters you to win fantastic prizes at our Find Waldo Local Finale Party!
I say this next sentence with the utmost of caution. It seems that we are finally headed back to in-person store events and in-person school visits this coming Fall, or so the publishers are telling me. Like everything else since March 2020, we'll see how it goes. But for now we are cheering and excited and relieved! Normalcy.
As summertime comes into full swing we’re looking forward to some amazing new reads! Check out our Summer Reading Guide for 2022 to discover our picks for each age group and genre below – and be sure to look for the Treehouse stamp of approval noting our favorite books in each section!
We give out a LOT of bookmarks here at Brazos, and we are always looking for new ideas for their design. This spring we’re asking kids to lend their artistic expertise to our annual Bookmark Contest! The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, April 27, 2022. We’ll announce the winners at our Summer Reading Kick Off Party!
One of the things I love most about my job as Children’s Programming Director here at Brazos is creating wonderful author events for all authors, but particularly for debut authors. There is such a happy magic in celebrating the arrival of a new book, letting people know why we at the store love it, putting it in customers’ hands. This is especially satisfying when it’s a book I particularly love or which I feel a personal connection to in some way.
This was one of my favorite books when I was younger (I can still vividly picture the world that I created in my head!). It is also responsible for piquing my interest in stories that follow competitive, academia adventures. In this book, dozens of gifted children are called upon to take a series of mysterious tests. Only four children are inducted into the Benedict society. These four are sent on missions in which their intelligence, creativity, and friendship will be tested in order to succeed at the trials that they are given. 
This is the book that made me fall in love with reading. Heroic mice and the importance of stories and much much more. From start to finish it is full of adventure, wonder, and heart. 
