If you are a hoarder of books, you’ve probably rummaged through the boxes of free paperbacks, hardbacks and textbooks on the sidewalk outside Michael’s Books at 109 Grand Ave. But if you’ve never ventured inside, this is the week to do it.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week (June 24-26), Michael’s celebrates 25 years of bookselling in Bellingham.

Young readers are the focus of the anniversary event, with a “Books for Kids” donation drive for participating local schools. There’ll be refreshments, a balloon artist (who’ll create a sculpture if you make a donation for the school of your choice, which Michael’s will match, payable in books for the school) and prize drawings from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The bookstore, according to its Web site, has evolved into “a labyrinth of shelves” of 5,000 square feet with more than 200,000 volumes. Owner Michael Elmer began serving customers around the world via the Internet in the mid-1990s.

But nothing can beat wandering the aisles, locating that favorite book you read in your youth, that slim volume of poetry that’s perfect for your sweetie or that sci-fi classic that you’ve been hunting for decades.

For more information, call the store at 733-6272 or take a virtual tour of the store by clicking here.