Blue Bunny Books is easily one of my favorite locations to walk to and hang out. During my…read morepregnancy, I have found myself walking into town just to be able to sit and do some work while sipping on a yummy drink. Their cafe isn't just creative, it's extensive! They really have something for everyone here. My boyfriend, who is more of a tea than a coffee person, hasn't found any complaints when trying their drinks (and he may be as much of a drink critic as I am). If you have kids, Blue Bunny also does creative and fun events to engage and involve your little ones in some much-needed book-themed fun. With our family expecting our first baby, we're beyond thrilled to bring her over to Blue Bunny's events, no matter how old she is. Blue Bunny is such a staple to the Dedham community, and I will always enjoy going back for some yummy coffees and good books.

What a cute little bookshop with cafe! We stopped in just to check out the selection but I was…read moredrawn in by its small chop charm. My son and I grabbed some drinks from the cafe and they were delicious, then as we waited browsed their selection. There are more children's books overall but they do carry toys, trinkets, cards, crafts, historical books and more. The woman working the front was super sweet and the lady behind the cafe counter was too, their service was welcoming. As far as value I'd rather support local than the big store. Their prices are the norm but yes you can find majority of these books at big retailers for less. They both also gave a military discount even though I don't believe that is the norm for them but much appreciated. Overall great experience.

Very nice, convenient store with helpful staff and good toy options for the younger ages.read more

I empathize with how hard it must be to run a physical toy store in the age of instant delivery to…read moreyour door. So I took my six year old here for that old Toy Store magic. Didn't really deliver. Lego with all sorts of cobranded Disney movies but no just... Lego. A staff that wasn't very helpful in knowing whether a game was a deck building game or strategy game. Those old school little balsa wood planes? Drones I seem to see everywhere? Nah, none of that. Oh well, just hard to really do physical retail when literally every thing and every piece of information is in a browser. They came up in conversation as having some sort of Pokemon night. Sounds neat so I checked the web site. There's literally no information. So I called the store. And got a recording or phone tree or something that's not very helpful. Not really looking for cobranded marketing doofers. Not really looking for "STEM" lazily slapped onto schlock.

This store is incredibly well stocked. Plus, the woman who owns it is knowledgeable and patient…read more Whenever I need a toy/book for a child, I tell her the child's age/general interests/my price range, and she gives me a variety of items to choose from. If I don't like any, she gives me more. All the gifts I've give from this store are a bit hit, sturdy, and keep the children's interest over a long period of time.

Expensive but a nice mixture of old and new. Very clean and well organised. Woman behind the…read morecounter was very kind, polite and greeted everyone that came in.

If you're a teacher, you likely already know about this place and have been here numerous times. I…read morereally like this place, even though I have no children and teach college students. I tend to shop here for educational items for relatives and friends' children. The staff is very friendly and patient, even when you have no idea what you are looking for. The store is well lit and well organized, so you know relatively quickly whether the item is available. The have undoubtedly the best selection of educational materials for all ages of any store around. That said, they are rather pricey and it is easy to blow through whatever budget you may have had walking in. I would suggest shopping here last, as many things can be found at Target, Amazon, and other outlets. If there is something in particular, especially harder to find educational aids, then this is your place. Just prepare to spend accordingly.

So I do a lot of shopping for my classroom.... and I buy much too much stuff, and have a lot in…read morestorage, but I always will end up using it at some point. Lakeshore is a really good place for the items that are rare. Special board games, art supplies, and even classroom decor (no where sells that stuff anymore!) have huge presences throughout this place. Lots of variety, very colorful store in general (it actually is too bright in here sometimes), and lots of unique and innovative products that aren't found in any other store. I definitely get more for a buck at WB Mason, and probably shop there three times as much as here, but this is the place I get things that are fun, useful, and normally for activities that are memorable for kids. Staff are always friendly and definitely search out the clearance tags here, they are a goldmine! Make sure to bring the 20% off coupons they send out and are sometimes on their website. In closing, great place for teachers to shop for any classes from Kindergarten - Grade 8. Don't expect the lowest prices, and I would never suggest buying crayons or pencils here. They will be lots cheaper online or at Staples down the street. 4 stars for Lakeshore. Located in Newton on Needham Street (technically, it's on Industrial Place). Exit 19A off Rt. 128, turn right at the HomeGoods (Industrial Place) and the store is the last storefront on the right side of that side street.

This place is really sucky. I've been there a few times in a pinch when I need to grab something…read morefor a birthday party, and I'm totally willing to pay a little bit more because it is locally owned and not a big publicly traded company. But there is no charm. The customer service is nonexistent because the people who work there clearly don't want to be working there and aren't very friendly. To make things worse, they don't have a bunch of basics: no gift bags... Seriously? To run a toy store and not sell any assortment of birthday gift bags that we can use to put our gifts in? Also, no balloons. I guess that can be a little bit difficult because you probably need a helium tank, but for a toy store where people are purchasing birthday gifts, no balloons? Anyway, I've been there a few times and have left disappointed and won't be coming back.

A great place to buy kids toys and gifts. There's everything from squiahmallows to fidgets and even…read morepajamas. I came here to look for a birthday present and found a cool robot toy for about $25. The lady at the register was amazing as she wrapped my gift and even added ribbon to the outside. I'll definitely be back to support and buy other presents.

Today, Tayla helped me to order a Jellycat that is not available where I live. Tayla went out of…read moreher way to assist me. Wonderful customer service!

I will never purchase on line from this store again. I placed an order on 12/30/24 and after almost…read morea week it had still not shipped. I had to call to find out why not and was told that USPS had failed to pick up the shipment. I guess they just keep waiting for them to come instead of making sure a customer order gets shipped. Then after it finally shipped it sat in a carrier facility where it still remains. Now they are telling me that I have to wait 2-3 weeks before they will consider it lost. Meanwhile they have my money and I have no merchandise and if it ever arrives I will have no use for it because it will have arrived too late to gift. No one should be told that they have to wait 37 days to fix an obvious problem. Very poor customer service.

Went into Newtonville Books with an ice cream. A mouse ran across the floor and we gasped…read more Staff told us to stop "horsing around" and that ice cream isn't allowed. Good to know the store enforces stricter rules for customers than for rodents.

The vibe is super friendly. The staff is attentive and helpful . If they don't have what you're…read morelooking for they can order it for you , that's always useful . They have a large selection of lots of books in all categories. They have other cute things like candles , socks and reusable bags . The value is good for the environment and large selection. They have lots of parking metered or a lot filled with metered parking . So no worries on parking . Also don't be shy the vibe is very welcoming. Great value for your monies as well .