The bookseller said she knew the store’s husband-and-wife owners had entered her in the contest. “Regular customers appreciate my knowledge of the books, and my passion for what I do,” she said of her qualifications, adding that before joining Hills & Hamlets three years ago she worked at a library and volunteered reading books to children. “One of my specialties is the kids’ section. I’m a grandma.”

She said one of her current favorite children’s titles is Baby Monkey, Private Eye. “It’s what I call a ‘gap’ book,” says Allan-Glick, describing how it fills a gap between picture books and chapter books, for children who are just learning to read. “The story is just funny and cute,” she says.  “An adult will read it to them once, and then they can really go and read it on their own.”

She also loves Ann Patchett’s Lambslide, about some young sheep who misunderstand an overheard conversation about a political landslide and embark on a search for a slide made just for them.

It was clear that Allan-Glick could talk children’s books all day, so her plans for her $500 bonus came as no surprise: “I’m going to buy books,” she said. “Probably books for the grandkids.”

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