A Guide to the Best of Southern California : FOR KIDS : Reading Room

In an era when videos are king, children’s bookstores that focus on children’s books are a real treasure. Books of Wonder is the largest children’s bookstore in New York City, and founders Peter Glassman and James Carey, along with “Cheers” producers Les Charles and James Burrows, opened the West Coast version in October. What makes this store so wondrous is its sense of history--it’s hard to imagine that anything in children’s literature is forgotten here. “Katherine the Moo Kow,” circa 1920, and L. Frank Baum’s “Wizard of Oz” share shelves with instruction manuals for parents. “Most of our books transcend the children’s book form--they’re for all ages,” Glassman says.

Books of Wonder, 439 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills ; (213) 247-8025.