Teresa K.

Review of Reach and Teach

Really cute store on a random street in San Mateo ...

Really cute store on a random street in San Mateo with a lot of little shops and restaurants. This place reminds me of a fantastic fair-trade shop called "Ten Thousand Villages" from the Pacific Northwest. The owner/host of the store is very nice and friendly, and offers you water, tea, and even a little piece of dark chocolate (tastefully/hygienically covered with a little clear plastic cup) when you enter the store. I could spend hours in this store looking through the interesting/eclectic book selection; toys; body butters/lotions; and other gifts. There are so many unique toys and gifts with their inspiration or actual origin from all over the world. The back half of the store is designed a children's play area with a table for arts and crafts, and surrounded by bookcases full of children's books. My favorite sections, though, are the toy and music sections where there are a lot of fantastic musical toys, puzzles, and other items that could easily keep both you and/or a child entertained for hours. They have puzzle toys and other small games similar to the Marbles: The Brain Store, but also other unique gifts like building blocks with Korean, Chinese, Japanese, ASL; toy trucks/cars on a string; ankle beads that can be both decorative and a percussive instrument; and my favorite, a fantastic xylophone built entirely of wooden pieces. Another lovely thing: they have beautiful greeting cards that are made locally and/or handmade, some of which are very unique and quite beautiful. You can probably tell: I LOVE THIS STORE.