Cover to Cover Books for Young Readers

08/03/2026

Learn about circuits this Sunday, Aug. 9 at 1pm with author & Columbus School for Girls educator, Jessica Fries-Gaither! This is a free, fun, and interactive STEAM Sunday.

Jessica is an experienced science educator and an award-winning author of books for students and teachers. Her titles include Nature’s Rule Breakers: Creatures That Don’t Fit In, Notable Notebooks: Scientists and Their Writings, Exemplary Evidence: Scientists and Their Drawings, Science Notebooks in Student-Centered Classrooms, and Wild Wonderings: Scientists and Their Questions. Learn more at her website, www.jessicafriesgaither.com and follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jfriesgaither, on Twitter and Instagram at , and on Blue Sky at Jessica Fries-Gaither, Author (she/her).bsky.social.

Join us every Sunday over the summer for fun, interactive activities for ages 4+ based around Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Science (STEAM). Events and materials are free (unless otherwise specified).

08/03/2026

On Aug. 8, the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State will be holding the National Cartoonists Society Showcase, bringing many popular cartoonists to the Buckeye State.

Hear from the head curator of comics and cartoon art at the museum, the creator of the Cathy comics which is celebrating its 50th anniversary and the cartoonist behind the New York Times-bestselling book Smile.

Guests:

Jenny Robb, head curator of comics and cartoon art/associate professor, Ohio State University’s The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

Cathy Guisewite - Author Page, creator of the "Cathy" comic strip

Raina Telgemeier's Comics, cartoonist/author of the graphic memoir Smile

Listen here:

https://www.wosu.org/show/all-sides/2026-07-29/national-cartoonists-society-showcase-coming-to-ohio-state

08/03/2026

Join us on Saturday, Aug. 8 at 10 a.m. as we welcome author Ehmsee Shane | Helping K–2 teachers create calm classrooms and her picture book, COME AND GATHER.

Come & Gather is a story of self-love and an early childhood picture book that introduces key social-emotional learning concepts through rhythm and rhyme. Centered on self-awareness and positive expression, this story helps students explore what it means to value themselves and use their voice in kind, constructive ways.

Ehmsee Shane is a local elementary teacher and the author of the “Come and Gather” children’s book series. Inspired by her experiences in the classroom, she writes heartwarming rhyming stories that teach social-emotional skills, kindness, confidence, and problem-solving in ways young children can easily understand and remember. She loves connecting with families and believes every child deserves stories that help them grow. Learn more about Ehmsee at https://www.batonbooks.com.

08/02/2026

Thank you Brenna Dubinsky, Amy Gutierrez, families, and friends for a wonderful Saturday storytime! We are excited for Brenna & Amy’s next picture book coming out this fall, IT’S A GREAT DAY…TO BE A PUMPKIN!

08/01/2026

Thank YOU everyone that shopped with us on our Pelotonia Saturday! You helped us reach $1,123! Bryan is just $127 short of his goal of $1,250 for Sunday’s 27-mile ride. Please consider a donation at any size. 100% of donations will go to life-saving research at The Ohio State University. https://my.pelotonia.org/profile/BL0001

08/01/2026

TODAY at 1pm is our Summer Book Bingo Celebration! There is still time to pick up or download your book bingo card. Enter to win and gift cards. Every bingo card participant receives a 10% coupon. Meet Jasper Rabbit at 1pm. Our party is going to be out of this world!

07/31/2026

Wishing Rudine Sims Bishop the happiest of birthdays! If you’ve ever been to our shop, you’ll see her quoted above our from door. We are grateful for Rudine’s wisdom & leadership.

The photo in this collage was taken in 2023 at the Ohio Book Awards. From left to right: James Bishop, Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, Dr. Carlotta Penn, Bryan Loar.

“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books.”

Except Source: By Rudine Sims Bishop, The Ohio State University. “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors” originally appeared in Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom. Vo. 6, no. 3. Summer 1990.

07/31/2026

Happy birthday Rudine! 🖤

Scholar and author Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop -- well known for her “mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors” framework, talks about her work as an educator and...