Jacket Knack on the Road: St. Michael's, MD

There are many picturesque little towns and communities peppering the eastern shore of Maryland. While there is an abundance of gift stores and nautical-themed décor shops, there’s a serious lack of bookstores--especially children’s bookstores. But I was tickled to find plenty of reading material for youngsters at Calico Toys & Games, in the lovely town of St. Michael’s.

Prominently displayed, of course, is local history. This illustrated story tells of the legend of how St. Michael’s was spared from British massacre during the War of 1812.

The Town That Fooled The British : A War Of 1812 Story Lisa Papp.

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press, May 2011).

Calico’s book section is a smorgasbord of fun for the kids: Brain Quests! Mad Libs! Klutz books! Read-Write-Draw It! And that’s just their book section. Imagine what the rest of the store is like. But don’t let the fun deceive you. There are some definite gems to be found here, too:

Poetry!

Poetry for Young People: American Poetry

by John Hollander (Editor) Publisher: Sterling Publishing, March 2004

More local ‘history’, disguised as a picture book!

B Is for Blue Crab: A Maryland Alphabet by Shirley Menendez

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press; September 2004

And horses! Don’t forget the horses!

Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
Publisher: Simon &Schuster Children's Publishing (paperback reissue) December, 2006

Our trip to Calico’s Toys & Games was certainly entertaining. They offer a nice variety of toys, games, and books—something for everyone, even for us fantasy lovers: haunted houses, ghosts, and ZOMBIES!

Your Grandparents Are Zombies by Anson Montgomery (Publisher: Chooseco LLC, October 2010)

Haunted House by R. A. Montgomery (Publisher: Chooseco LLC, May 2007); and

Ghost Island by Shannon Gilligan (Publisher: Chooseco LLC, May 2008)