Kidsbooks is a dangerous place. Oh, it looks innocent with those cheerful window displays and enticing bookshelves. But that’s just the problem. It’s like a carnivorous plant — all bright, pretty colors until you’re sucked inside.

For example, one might think “hmmm… I’ll just pick up a little board book about trucks for that friend who, after three girls, just had a baby boy.” Theoretically, one might choose said truck book and then happen to wander through a few extra aisles on the way to the cash register, and then, hypothetically, one might end up leaving the store $70 lighter. Oh yes, it’s true.

Then, in order to justify this mishap, one might have to hide the purchases in the back of a closet and label them “Christmas presents, bought early.”

(Ooooh… but hey… look at this. One early Christmas present to me made it onto my end table early. What a surprise!)