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Cards & Gifts

The Book Corner stocks greeting cards that bring messages of encouragement, sympathy, joy, and celebration. All cards are priced below retail and without tax.



Blue Monarch granola

New to the Book Corner is all-natural homemade honey-oat granola, packaged by women through a self-help program in the Tennesee Valley.

The Blue Monarch gives a hand and hope to women recovering from abuse and addictions. Inside every bag of granola is a photo of the Blue Monarch woman who baked and packaged it.

A companion bakery and coffee shop, The Blue Chair distributes the granola and employs the women.

Women’s Bean Project

Take the chill out of autumn and winter with soup mixes from the Women’s Bean Project. This ministry helps women break the cycle of poverty and unemployment through the development of work skills.



Palm crosses

“It’s like holding the hand of God.” That’s how one man described what his palm felt like when he held a wooden cross made at Ron and Elaine Foht’s Milan, IL home. Mr. Foht began making the ByRonPalmCross ten years ago. The crosses are made of solid American walnut from boards handpicked at a lumbermill in New Windsor, IL and no two crosses are alike.

Wooden palm crosses find their way from St. Paul’s little bookstore into the hands of people who are grieving, healing, and praying. Says the local creator of these devotional pieces, “There is no finish on the cross. The oils from your hands and those of your loved ones as it is used in prayer will become the finish…We are passionate to have a palm cross in the hands of people during difficult times…so the recipient experiences a tangible sense of Christ and their community of believers.”



Baskets from South Africa

Baskets made by the Zulu, the largest tribe in South Africa, using recycled telephone wire. These bright, washable and sturdy baskets, called mbenge in the native language, come in myriad colors and intricate, mesmerizing designs. These unique baskets are especially functional and can be washed in warm, soapy water. This Fair Trade cottage industry (Baskets of Africa) has grown from 80 part time weavers to over 600 full time weavers.



Snacks

Grown with care by small farmers here in the US, these snacks are now available in resealable, 5 oz packages. Since 1986, Equal Exchange has been building Fair Trade by partnering with small farmer co-ops in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Now they are extending their model to family farmers, farm workers, and farmer co-operatives here in North America. With your help, let’s Bring Fair Trade Home also.



Gift bags

Small gift bags are now available for purchase. The gift bags are perfect for jewelry, crosses, soap, original T-bag art, etc. Tuck a card into the gift bag and your gift is ready for that special someone.

Tea Bag Art

T-Bag Designs

More coasters, cards, and boxes crafted by South African women, from Original T-Bag Designs.



New Book Titles


Book Corner hours
  • Sunday mornings
  • First Saturdays, 5-6:30 p.m.
  • Wednesdays during the school year, 6-7 p.m.

Jan Aplin, Book Corner manager

"There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread." ~Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist