A US bookshop tour…

My mum has just got back from a month in the USA and Canada – and she took the opportunity to visit some bookshops wherever she went. Lucky us! She wrote this post for We Heart Books towards the end of her time there…

Rivendell Books, Montpelier, Vermont

For those who don’t know me, I should confess that I am a self-confessed ‘collect-a-holic’ so it has been a delight to have something to search for whilst here in North America and it should be no surprise that I have been looking for bookshops – and irresistible children‘s books! But what can I say? … It has not been such an easy quest. The ‘real’ bookshop seems to be a disappearing entity.

Our first stop was New York which provided an excellent serve of cultural enrichment, however, in spite of the recession, alas, no specials in the museum and gallery shops which are magnets that draw me to them before I even look at their collections! Those of MOMA and the Met proved no exception. The fact that we already have large numbers of books which encourage art appreciation in children was no reason not to carefully shift through their shelves for more treasures. I have added three more titles including one for children about the work of Austrian architect, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, whose wonderful museum in Vienna I visited last year.

Outside FAO Schwartz, New York (with Curious George wooden toy in hand)

But, my most pressing quest was to find a Curious George soft toy and game to augment Rowan’s next birthday present, the collector’s edition of Curious George stories by Margaret and HA Rey. I couldn’t believe that neither America’s largest toy store, FAO Swartz in New York nor Borders in Boston could produce a single cuddly Curious George. The kind lady in Borders was somewhat despondent about the level of sales of any children’s books and said special toys like the one I was after were only brought in for Christmas.

However, not all was lost as I found a cloth-bound and cased copy of Dr Seuss’ Oh The Places You’ll Go. This was purchased for daughter Clare – about to graduate from Harvard Masters of Public Health. From the relatively large numbers of this book in stock, I gather it is commonly given as a parental gift at commencement (graduation). A bit corny but … well heck!

The Curious George Store, Harvard

As for Curious George, he did turn up – in Harvard Square of all places, where there is a bookshop named after him. An hour or more later, the cases were well stocked with children’s books and the next book stop, a few days later, at Rivendell Books in Montpelier, Vermont was for a look only. But it had a great feel – I really like bookshops that are peppered with interesting comfortable chairs which encourage lingering.

Interior of Jade W Bookshop, Halifax

Katie was encouraged to send a list of desirable authors/illustrators and this guided my selections at Dustjacket and The Jade W in Halifax and as a result, there are now two large boxes of books on their way back to Melbourne; some are second-hand, others new and most are from US and Canadian publishers, ones I don’t think make the usual bookshop shelves in Australia. I am still not sure which of these are gifts for Katie and Rowan and which will join the library at Nanou’s, but I am sure you’ll be hearing more about at least some of them.

Some titles were too precious to trust to the boxes…

The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey is an adults’ ABC which starts:
A is for AMY who fell down the stairs;
B is for BASIL assaulted by bears;
C is for CLARA who wasted away;
D is for DESMOND thrown out of a sleigh.
Great detailed black and white fine line illustrations.

My Little Hen by Alice and Martin Provensen, which I love for its illustrations alone.

And a couple of books ‘just for’: Henry’s Important Date by Robert Quackenbush and a well-loved 1960 copy of Maurice Sendak’s The Sign on Rosie’s Door.

Renee at Dustjacket and Sydney at The Jade W were both incredibly helpful and both obviously love books. Whether it be the idiosyncratic filing system at Dustjacket or the more orderly library arrangement at The Jade W, both provided wonderful book experiences … and there were so many titles that had to be left behind for someone else to discover and love.

Thanks Mum for this post and all the treasures you brought back – look forward to sharing them in future Borrowed and Thrifted posts…