Independent Bookstores are a Parent's Best Friend
Parents are on a mission. They want to raise smart, happy children, and childhood experts have plenty of advice on how to accomplish that goal. “Get them out of the house to explore their universe! Let them engage in free play! Fill their hours with engaging activities!”
But sometimes the idea well runs dry, or it rains for days on end, and time is always in short supply. Moms, dads, grandparents and extended family need a lifeline, and with their books and boundless creativity, independent bookstores make an ideal "mamma's" helper.
Bookstores are Interactive
Author events, writer’s workshops, puppet shows, craft time, book clubs, music classes, camps, scavenger hunts, and character visits are a few more ways that independent bookshops invite children and their parents to visit and interact based on a shared love of books. While some of these things are already happening at A New Chapter Bookstore, we have a vision to include many more community involved activities. A regularly scheduled story time is a bookshop classic for a reason: everyone loves being read to and it’s a wonderful reason to visit an indi bookstore.
Bookstores are Engaging
Parents could take their kids to buy a book just about anywhere, but at an independent bookstore, book-buying is and adventure. It's your adventure, you can make it all about the hunt, or you can come in and "kill it, and drag it home." It’s all in the details. It's the treasure you weren't expecting to find, it's the perfect gift for someone you love, it's a fond memory you thought you lost. You'll find this and more right here, at your fingertips.
Bookstores are Educational
Let’s not forget the number one item that independent bookstores offer to kids and their parents: exploration through books. There’s the power of learning through story-time, of course, but we also offer educational resources, well-informed staff members and environments that bring books to life.
Bookstores are Relaxing
After all the hours of activity in a day and the endless schedule of events, children need a little down time. Time to reflect and a cozy little nook to read in. Parents benefit from this respite, too! We have designed quiet reading areas for all ages, including a great big reading chair, a mid-century modern vibrant pair of tête-à-tête chairs, "Angus and Douglass" a pair of Scottish plaid swivel rockers, a velvet chair fit for a princess, and outdoor seating in a secure safe relaxing outdoor courtyard. Other bookstores offer parents relaxation of a different sort with one-stop shopping for toys and games in addition to books, gift wrap, and birthday party hosting services.