Thursday, October 15, 2009

Children's Book World

Reading is Fun! Maurice Sendak poster 1979

The Los Angeles bookstore, Children's Book World, is celebrating their 23rd anniversary, helping parents, teachers and kids find just the right children's book to read, to gift or to lead a classroom exploration. That sounds ideal, but how exactly does a person find the right book?

The answer seems simple enough: great customer care. The staff loves to read and it shows. Unlike most small shops that have one or two employees, there is a generous group of assistants that will pull books, describe the authors and stories, and genuinely engage with you to find a perfect fit. Good thing, considering there are 80,000 titles!

A larger bookstore might have a dedicated children's book section, with all the bells and whistles like tiny seating and wooden standees of beloved characters. Still, that can't take the place of a person describing a story and what makes it especially wonderful; that sort of appreciation for writing, that excitement for storytelling, it inspires reading.

No comments: