A Storybook Bookstore for Children of All Ages

By Karen Diegmueller

San Diego

"Mommy, mommy, I found a castle," a breathless Max Cantlupe cries out as he tracks down his mother and escorts her to a cozy corner of the store. There, as promised, is a kid-sized fortress where the preschool set can play and surround themselves with the books that someday will transport them to distant planets, ancient Greece, or maybe inside the wondrous world of worms.

As Max settles down in the castle, his 7-year-old brother, B.J., searches the shelves for books that suit his fancy. Soon, he is drawn to a book about Picasso. Later, the voracious reader follows his mother, Michele Molnar, around the shop. He reads Dogzilla aloud to her, as she shows her out-of-town visitor the delights of The Prince and the Pauper, a bookstore that caters to the child...