Best of Boston

Is Junior grappling with the moral implications of a carnivorous diet? Take him to Porter Square to read Herb, The Vegetarian Dragon. Barefoot Books’ sunny little children’s nook, stocked by its own locally based international publishing company of the same name, also boasts plenty of other creative, beautifully illustrated multicultural, and often idiosyncratic, choices. One book of the month was written by a professional faerie, and the world religions section boasts a book about the Hindu goddess Divaali. (There are also plenty of creative but basically apolitical fairy tales and stories about animals.) Community is as important as storytelling here: There are regular story hours—some bilingual—author events, and an adult evening series on topics such as “Creating a Place for Your Child to Grow and Thrive.”