Can we all agree that no rational person would ever open a children's bookstore?

No one has ever crunched the numbers and concluded, "Yep, opening a children's bookstore is going to make me rich."

And yet...

Books of Wonder just opened a new store on West 84th...half a block from West Side Kids, two blocks from Barnes & Noble, five blocks from Book Culture, twenty from Bank Street Bookstore. The Upper West Side is nutty like that.

I stopped by today to check it out. (The first thing I did was see if they had any of my books. Duh.) I left with a new picture book, which I seem to do every time I go to a children's bookstore. It feels good to buy a picture book. It's like opioid addiction, but healthier.

It makes me smile to know that I live in a neighborhood with little pockets of magic and stardust that quietly coexist with the Duane Reades and Chases and Starbucks. Nothing against corporations. But you don't see toddlers crawling the floors of Duane Reade, and Chase doesn't make you feel like the world is inherently wonderful.

Thumbs up for Books of Wonder. Thumbs up for children's bookstores, and children's books, and children.

(And before anyone gets a lump in their throat, yes, I'm going to deduct the book purchase on my taxes.)