Toys

Item Description

The Toy Shop of Concord

For over 68 years, The Concord Toy Shop has been known and respected for its philosophy – that toys are serious business when it comes to the value of play. The Toy Shop of Concord is located at 89 Thoreau Street in Concord, Massachusetts.

Spit & Sticks: A Chimney Full of Swifts
by Mailyn Grohosky Evans

A human family awaits the birth of a new baby as their bird friends nest above.

A chimney swift glides onto a family’s farm in Texas, thousands of miles from its other home in South America. The stub-tailed bird is in search of the chimney it once called home.

Another swift soon joins. They toil in their temporary chimney home, using twigs from nearby trees and their sticky spit as an adhesive to build a nest that will soon welcome their pure-white oval eggs. At the same time in the house below, a mother, father, and young daughter prepare for the arrival of a new baby.

Informative text tells the story of the diligent swifts alongside wordless illustrations of the family on the farm. This parallel story of two very different, but both growing, families follows the changes in each as summer gives way to fall and the humans wave good-bye to the departing swifts—until next year.

Nicole Gsell’s watercolor illustrations capture the harmonious interaction of humans and nature. Additional information on chimney swifts is included as backmatter. Nature enthusiasts and bird lovers will delight in learning about the life cycle of chimney swifts and their annual migration.

Charlesbridge publishes high-quality books for children, with a goal of creating lifelong readers and lifelong learners. Our books encourage reading and discovery in the classroom, library, and home. We believe that books for children should offer accurate information, promote a positive worldview, and embrace a child's innate sense of wonder and fun. To this end, we continually strive to seek new voices, new visions, and new directions in children's literature.

Item Special Note

The winning bidder will be responsible for shipping and handling costs, in addition to the purchase price. Alternatively, the winner may arrange in advance to pick up the item at The Discovery Museums office (Monday – Friday, between 8:30 and 4:30).