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STORE HRS:  8-7 M-F, 9-6 Sat   434-385-5027

 
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Lynchburg’s Oldest Bookstore & Finest Toy Store. est. 1976

George and Sylvia Givens, a frustrated teacher and a game-for-anything wife and mother, opened Boonshire Books in 1976 in an old gas station on Boonsboro road. After clearing away the fumes and cobwebs and covering up the oil stains with remnant carpeting, they began a legacy that has since gone through many incarnations.

 

FUNdamentals of Play

Look for the play value icons on the toy description pages: Independent Play, Cooperative Play, Motor Skills, Visual, Creative, Language, Logic and Music:

independence.gifCooperative Play - toys for interacting with other childrenToys to Develop Childrens' Motor SkillsVisual Learning - toys that help with colors and shapesCreative Play - Toys that develop creativityLearning through MusicLanguage DevelopmentLogical Thought - toys that help with sorting, sequencing and reasoning

 

You can search by FUNdamentals, too, with the Advanced Search Options. 


Independent Play

independence.gif Children playing independently learn self confidence and figure out solutions for themselves.

Toys in this category may encourage role playing and creative story development. Kids can think problems through at their own pace.
 


Cooperative Play

Cooperative Play - toys for interacting with other children By playing with other children, kids learn to share... they quickly pick up role playing and teamwork.

A good cooperative play toy encourages children to interact and create a fun environment that is a joy for all. Cooperative toys can teach kids to express their feelings in a positive manner.


Motor Skills

Toys to Develop Childrens' Motor SkillsToys in the motor skills FUNdamental category are good for teaching children control in muscle development.

Kids learn hand-to-eye coordination. Young children use motor skills to pickup all kinds of sensory skills... textures, weight, shape, size relationships, motion. As children grow, toys will also assist in developing fine motor skills such as manipulating small parts, using “tools” and construction principles.


Visual Learning

Visual Learning - toys that help with colors and shapes Visual toys and games help kids with many types of visual relationships. Toddlers begin to learn colors and color associations.

Image associations are developed (a drawing of a kitty represents a live kitten, but is not an actual kitten, rather a visual short-hand for the kitten). Visual toys and shape recognition are the building blocks of reading.


Creative Play

Creative Play - Toys that develop creativityThrough creative play children develop the cognitive, social, physical, and emotional skills they will need to thrive.

Playing with puppets, dolls, and animals that have been personified allows children to work through all kinds of social issues creatively. Forts, tents, and carefully hung sheets can create space for the creation of magical worlds. Costumes allow children to see the world through someone else’s eyes.


Language Development

Language Development Family board games encourage group conversation which aids in the development of complex language skills.

Elementary school teachers will tell you - even sixth graders love to be read to, literature uses vocabulary that even the most well educated households don’t work into daily life, so grab a chapter book to share with the family. Puppets and costuming allow opportunities for script writing and acting.


Logical Thought

Logical Thought - toys that help with sorting, sequencing and reasoning

Logical thinking is the process in which we use reasoning consistently to come to a conclusion.

Children learn logical thought through a variety of different play oriented activities. From peek-a-boo, and fill and spill toys to sorting, sequencing, and putting together puzzles, children figure things out. You can see the gears turning when they sit down with a construction toy whether they follow directions or create something new. Many brain teaser toys encourage logical thought. 


Learning through Music

Learning through Music Music encompasses all areas of child development: physical, intellectual, social and emotional.

Children who study music score higher on standardized tests. Toy instruments encourage children to discover music through play. Shakers, drums, cymbals and other percussion toys help develop rhythm while piano’s, guitars, xylophones, etc. encourage the use of melody.



 

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BUILDZI Building Game
BUILDZI Building Game
view Givens Books READ OF THE MONTH
 

READ OF THE MONTH

 

The Tainted Cup

 

Robert Jackson Bennett

 

 

 

"A thoroughly satisfying delight from start to finish."

-The New York Times Book Review

 

In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible.

Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears--quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.

Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

Featuring an unforgettable Holmes-and-Watson style pairing, a gloriously labyrinthine plot, and a haunting and wholly original fantasy world, The Tainted Cup brilliantly reinvents the classic mystery tale.

 
 
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Givens Books & Little Dickens
Address:
2236 Lakeside Drive
Lynchburg, VA 24501
USA
Phone: 434-385-5027

Givens Books and Little Dickens has one of the largest toy selections for children and adults. Browse our toys above, or come by our store to see the fun in person.


Looking for more than toys? We are Virginia's largest selection of Teaching Supplies, Toys, New & Used books all under one roof. We have three other websites to make shopping for books and educations supplies fast and easy.

Click below to shop on each of our other websites:

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