We’ve had some fantastic suggestions for our world tour of bookshops – so many beautiful bookshops of the world have been nominated. Here are a few more…
Nominated by Sally, who says ‘this is the type of bookshop you dream of as a child’, I really really love the look of this shop. The vision of shop founder Tamara MacFarlane is to make reading fun – if you have a minute to watch the video on the website you will be glad you did. I really love the passion that Tamara has for making the bookshop a place that children love to visit and an environment that encourages them to choose their own books. Hop on over to their Facebook album to see some of their really beautiful themed windows. Next time I’m in London I am definitely making this a must-see.
Canadian nominations flowed in thick and strong very early – I hope this a reflection of a thriving industry in Canada?! Cathy told us about her specialist children’s store, The Flying Dragon, in Toronto. The photos of their storytime sessions and visiting authors show such a cosy looking space – so lovely. I would love to hang out there. They have had a wonderful array of authors visiting their store and their website and blog reflect a lovely fantastical feel, appropriate for their name.
7) Kidsbooks
With three locations,Kidsbooks seems to be a Vancouver (Canada) institution, and one that really prides itself on its knowledgeable staff. And it has so far received more nominations for our world tour than any other bookshop! Holly loves the great selection, the staff, and the comfy red chairs, while Sara fondly remembers some fantastic events she attended – a performance by Eoin Colfer, reading by the fantastic Philip Ardagh and a memorable midnight Harry Potter party. Anne Marie told us about an amazing list of kid-friendly shops in the same street – Melonheads (a kids’ hair salon), Just Imagine (a kid’s costume shop), plus great bakeries and coffee shops and even a cupcake store!
Wow! If Books of Wonder was ‘The Shop Around the Corner’ in You’ve Got Mail, then could The Scholastic Store be ‘Fox Books’? This enormous children’s bookstore has all the bells and whistles. At 6,200-square-feet, it has a full range of books, as well as toys, games, and educational software. Scholastic characters feature, including a larger-than-life Clifford in a massive kennel, and a ten-foot-long Magic School Bus that littlies can pretend to drive and a giant dinosaur from the Jane Yolen series. An auditorium hosts frequent events, and there’s a glass windowed event room for themed birthday parties. Media Macaroni‘s Amy nominated this store, and her daughter had a party there, must have been so cool.
Many more nominations have been submitted via comments, visit our Google Map for our expanding list of beautiful bookstores. We’d love to add more to the list – to nominate, add your comments to this post. I’ll be back with more highlights…
Thanks for highlighting Vancouver’s Kidsbooks! I took my daughter there this morning and got two books I remembered from my childhood (Big Sister and Little Sister and The Little Girl and the Tiny Doll). We love Kidsbooks!