There’s no doubt about it, we are definitely into a “Post Pandemic Era.” The clarity of that revelation came this spring and summer in a most unexpected space, the bookstore — specifically Barnes and Noble bookstores. After a near two-year shut down, big book stores like Barnes and Noble have been slowly opening back up, finding their feet again and – just like everyone else – been navigating an uncharted path back to normalcy.
Having traveled the Texas highways the past few months as a guest of Barnes and Noble with the opportunity to share storytime readings of Giraffes in My Closet with kids and parents in about a dozen locations, it has been obvious people are returning to one of their favorite big box book haunts in droves. From the Rio Grande Valley to Big D and back again, it has been of particular note that throughout Texas not only are patrons returning to bookstores with their kids in tow, they are choosing to stay and hang out there for hours on end.
Watching parents and kids read together, play games, color, pick out their most favorite books, discover stuffed animals, meet up with friends, sit at tables together in the children’s book section, imagine and excitedly attend storytime in every store, regardless of the city, has been remarkable.
In one Austin store, two grandparents brought their 3-year-old granddaughter to Barnes and Noble for the very first time. She was too young to venture out when COVID worries were at their height, and now two years have slipped by. This little pig-tailed tot’s joy and enthusiasm in the store were unbridled. She literally jumped, skipped, hopped and sang through the entire children’s area – actually, correction, that would be through the entire store – with unmitigated excitement for more than two hours as her stunned and delighted grandparents followed close behind. Her joy and theirs were palpable, as she repeatedly asked if the favored books and toys she spied on the shelves could actually be purchased and taken home. For her it was a special experience of monumental proportion shared with her grandparents; one she will undoubtedly always remember, and will certainly want to repeat again and again.
If you have yet to take your kids to these iconic stores or any other book stores in the “Post Pandemic Era”, it is an experience to be shared and remembered as you teach them a love for books and reading.
Here are a few “Book Store Best Bets” to keep in mind when planning your outings with your littles to your favorite book store.
- Look for children storytimes posted online
- Take your kids to storytime as often as you can
- Let them meet and chat with authors who come to the store
- Let them browse and pick out special books – a couple for reading at that moment, a couple to take home
- Find a table and take the time to read together
- Draw pictures together with characters from books – paper and colors are available instore, just ask
- Let them imagine and play, dance and sing on the storytime stage
- Make your outings a fun social time
- Meet up with friends in the children’s area
- Top off your time together with a special shared treat – cookies and lemonade are a favored choice
As we all look for joy in 2022, remember – Reading: It Becomes You! So cheers to kids, cheers to reading, and cheers to bookstores – so great to have them back!
“I love walking into a bookstore. It’s like all my friends are sitting on the shelves, waving their pages at me.”
—Tahereh Mafi
“You see, bookshops are dreams built of wood and paper. They are time travel and escape and knowledge and power. They are, simply put, the best of all places.”
— Jen Campbell
