Grace Visits a Unique Barn

Baldwin's Book Barn to Be Exact

Hi! Traveling is a wonderful thing! The past two Sunday were dreary and overcast and rainy. What better way to spend an afternoon but with friends like Ladies Vanyer and Webby at Baldwin's Book Barn! Lady Webby had been there before but Vanyer and Xyra and I hadn't. What a great experience!

It's about an hour from our house and HUGE!

They have outside seating.

But it wasn't nice enough for that so we headed right in.

The first room is wonderful and smells of fire place or wood burning stove. You'll find many volumes behind glass here.

And Franklin Library books. They are beautifully bound.

(giggles) Two copies of a book our cousin never finished—The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 

He's not much of a reader or wasn't. He's started reading more now, but mostly things related to his work.

Check out these gorgeous volumes...Shakespeare!

I love this photo collage from around the barn. I hope we see a kitty! 

As we walked through the big door—you'll see that later—we started our discovery! The first thing I spotted was a copy of The Happy Hollisters.

Then I saw a collection of Dickens Illustrations. Here is Oliver asking, "Please, sir, may I have some more."

This set looked to be more my size, but it was The Decameron and in Italian! I put that back. (giggles)

The barn was built in 1822. There were a lot of signs like this one.

Or they said, "Duck or Bump." I like "Duck or Grouse," especially after Xyra explained why it made her laugh so much.

We turned into the Children's Room. Immediately yellow spines caught my eye!

Had to check them out.

Then I spotted The Five Little Peppers. We have ones just like this at home, but I'm not sure we have the key six. I think we have the author's favorite four.

Here the shelves are stocked with old and new. It's really cool!

Xyra got distracted so I sat down to read an animal based alphabet book. I love this giraffe...and the hippo!

So if you're tall you want to watch your head. You also want to take care on the steps as you head up. Each staircase is slightly different.

There is something for everyone! I would go with a topic in mind, not a specific title.

I found a section with books on toys.

On the third floor I took a look out the window. It's pretty high up.

In the pet section I found this A Guide to England Through a Cat's Eyes. 

It features two cats; one black and one white. 

The white on reminded me of Nana Kestrel's Keeter; the black of our lovely Piper and Pyewacket, dearly departed Baghira, and Xyra's friend's kitty, Severus.

Lady Vanyer had fun looking at the crafting section. Lady Webby found an older biography for her father.

The music room is kind of small. 

It has books on music, sheet music, scores, even some vinyl and CDs.

On our way out I noticed a small door in one of the walls.

I had to check it out.

Sadly, it was empty. Not sure why it's there. Maybe to pass notes.

We had fun exploring and I hope to visit again, but it's time to go home. 

Xyra found two books. The Hotel Cat by Esther Averill and Mistress Masham's Repose by T.H. White. We're halfway through The Hotel Cat; it's fun! AND Xyra didn't even look at the author when she picked up the other; she loves T.H. White.

(We didn't find a kitty 😞.)

Is this a place you'd like to visit? The staff is very friendly and they love readers and book lovers of all sizes. Oh, and if you love the smell of books, this is the place for you! I had to laugh, Xyra kept stopping to take deep breaths. (giggles) But when we left I understood that better too.

What is your favorite place to visit with friends on a dreary day?

À bientôt!