Paxton Gate Storyhour 

Have you ever seen a Gritchen in your kitchen? Or dared to dance with the One-Legged Zantz? We can’t think of a better time to start than during the final days before Christmas. Long out of print, Don’t Bump the Glump was Shel Silverstein’s first and strangest collection of children’s verse (never mind that many of these poems debuted in Playboy), and its reprint found a natural home on the elite bookshelves of Paxton Gate’s Curiosity for Kids. Happily, this is just one of many superb titles that might get chosen during the weekly, sweetly, sit-my-wee-one-down Paxton Gate Storyhour. This is place where Pecos Bill rubs shoulders with Mike Mulligan, and The Little Prince contemplates the Great Ball of Fire!, a poetic explanation of the universe by local teacher Betty-Ann Kissilove. These books are lovingly selected, either for their time-tested charm, power to illuminate, or, in the case of some collections, the strength and beauty of specific illustrators. For first-time listeners, a better setting might not be found. Lacking all condescension, the store is festooned with gnarled tree branches, old rope, strange hand-knitted taxidermy, and a display of original artwork. This month’s artist is Lela Shields, whose fine line drawings befit a Scandinavian fairy tale where the veil between human, animal, and spirit worlds is thin indeed. — By Silke Tudor

Price: free