Celebrating one year of Old Town Books Junior!
When I first opened Old Town Books in late 2017 I knew nothing about kids books. The tiny nook we had at our first location, a pop-up along the waterfront at Union Street, featured approximately seven picture books. I had a smattering of board books but hardly any early-reader, middle-grade, or really much else to speak of. It was pretty bare bones.
What passed for a kids' section in 2017.
By 2018 I had managed to limp along with the children's section, picking titles based on what customers suggested and what my own young daughter was interested in at the time. Things were slowly looking up for the kid’s nook, but it was still a very minor feature of the store.
Thankfully, later that year I connected with Melissa LaSalle, a book blogger and former bookstore buyer I followed on Instagram. I had been slightly stalkerish on her account, following along to see what books I should order for the store. We eventually connected over the sorry state of my kids section. She saw a cry for help and happily for me - for all of us! - answered.
Fast forward through COVID and one big bookstore move, and the kids nook started really taking off.
By late 2020 the kids section was located in the back room of our new Royal Street store. Here’s the space where Melissa would eventually get to start flexing her book buying muscles.
Melissa grew the Royal Street kids section over the next three-and-a-half years. She created holiday gift guides, summer reading lists, and stunning seasonal displays. I started to appreciate that folks were coming out just to browse kids books and talk to Melissa. How amazing it was to watch our previously neglected nook now grow and thrive!
A photo from June 2020, when kids books took up just a few shelves in the middle room of Royal Street.
Over time the children’s section moved into the back room grew and grew. Melissa added a nonfiction section, a graphic novel section, and space for gorgeous large format gift books for kids. She merchandised books with puzzles, plush, and toys. The backroom was becoming a wonderland. A very full, overflowing wonderland.
By 2023 we had a proper, beautifully stocked kids book section. Space was still tight, but Melissa made sure readers could find both beloved books and new favorites.
Melissa’s meticulously curated early reader and middle grade shelves.
It was around this time we started scheming: What if we could expand the kids section even more - maybe even into its own store? What if with Melissa’s expertise, and my newfound passion for kidlit (thanks to my three young daughters) we could open…Old Town Books Junior?
Construction started in 2024 on Old Town Books Junior.
By mid-year 2024 we were plotting shelf layouts and Melissa was making buying decisions. The kids-specific store would be more than ten times the size of the original nook! We joked that Melissa’s Instagram account, @thebookmommy, basically exploded into its own store.
The result was mind-bending. If you’ve heard Melissa talk about children's books you know it is inspiring. But to see her create this entire store? It was even more so.
Melissa in her element.
And now, somehow, it has been a full year of Old Town Books Junior. It has been a joyful time, full of learning curves, and laughs, and lots of Saturday storytimes. It has been a pleasure watching Melissa work, watching her and Cate grow the kids bookselling team. We’ve hosted our first kids book authors and kicked off school visits. There have been so many amazing “firsts” - I feel so lucky to be part of this bookstore, this team, this community of readers. Wow.
Read on for my conversation with Melissa about what this first year has meant to her, and take a look ahead at all the bookish fun still to come.
And finally… don’t forget to join us for our first birthday bash this Saturday, September 13th!
-Ally
Ally: It’s been one year since we opened Old Town Books Junior- how are you feeling?
Melissa: My heart bursts with pride and joy for all we’ve accomplished and for the warm outpouring of support from the Alexandria community and beyond. It still surprises me how many local customers come through the doors and say, “Oh wow, I had no idea you had opened up a kids' store!” I forget that a year is just a blip for most folks, because for those of us who inhabit this space all time, this past year has felt so full of challenge and fun.
Ally: What’s been the biggest surprise this past year?
Melissa: Well, the biggest shock came last week, when after six months of planning our most high profile kids author event of the year, including renting a 400-seat theater, we got the devastating call an hour before doors opened that kid lit legend Jason Reynolds would not be able to attend due to a personal emergency. He was to be in conversation with the bestselling and very funny author James Ponti, and I knew that James could easily entertain a crowd of kids and adults for an hour, but I also knew he was coming off three school visits, that he’d need an influx of energy, and that there would be disappointed ticket holders in the crowd. I’m a massive Ponti fan and had fortunately read Hurricane Heist, the second book in The Sherlock Society that we were celebrating, so I stepped in to moderate. It was a blast, and I think by the non-stop laughter from the crowd that we pulled it off beautifully, but I couldn’t have done it without my team, who I trusted implicitly to manage set-up and logistics without me so I could scribble down notes and stay with James. It made me reflect just how close we have become, how strong and resilient and good humored our team is. So, I think what has actually surprised me the most is that, for as much as I’m in it for the books–and I am really, really in it for the books–I’m just as much in it for the people and the relationships. I’m tearing up just thinking about it.
Ally: What are you most proud of?
Melissa: When we first opened, you joked that my Instagram account had blown up and become a store, and it did feel like that (in the most fun way!). Over the past year, while I continue to have my hands in so many parts of the business, the store has also become so much bigger than me. I now don’t hesitate to add a book to one of our reading guides if a colleague loved it but I never got around to reading it. I keep books on displays that I know my colleagues love to hand sell. I order Bluey books and Paw Patrol books and even Bluey plushies because it makes our youngest customers so happy. What has been most gratifying is watching the space come to mean something to the kids. They sprawl on the floor or on one of the rocks under the tree and they make their own memories. They make a stop at the bookstore part of their birthday celebrations. I had one middle schooler ask me just this week if he could make a LEGO build for the window to match a book cover!
Melissa outside the Old Town Books Junior storefront earlier this year.
Ally: What is one memory from this year you’ll remember fondly?
Melissa: Am I allowed to say every single author event? OK, if I had to pick one, it would be our Middle Grade Panel last March, where I got to moderate some of my favorite writers in the business, including Katherine Marsh, Kate Albus, CC Harrington, and Anna Lapera. It felt a little like a passion project so I was thrilled when we quickly sold out the event and had so many excited kids, parents, authors, and educators in the audience. There were kids jumping up and down in the signing lines, so overcome to meet authors whose books they’ve loved, and everyone left with at least one book new to them. I’ve long believed that kid lit people are some of the nicest, most talented, most hardworking people in the world and it’s a joy to be able to foster community around them. Plus, what an inspiration for our young readers!
Ally: What has been the biggest challenge?
Melissa: So many books, so little space! This was true back when we had a tiny space and it’s still true now in our great big space. My brain is a constant chess board of what I can move where and when. Knowing that our customers seek us out for the curation they won’t find at a big box or online store, I spend the bulk of my time considering what to stock. In our old space, my buying used to be almost entirely focused on new releases, but this has changed as I’ve come to appreciate needing space for older holiday, back-to-school, or funny favorites, especially when they might actually be better than what’s new. But, then again, making sure to incorporate old favorites in displays means being even pickier about what new books I bring in, and so the cycle starts all over again.
Ally: What has it been like growing the Old Town Books Junior team? Any shout outs?
Melissa: Back when our children’s section comprised just a few shelves in the back room of the adult store, our booksellers were understandably focused on adult reading, and I felt like a nagging broken record of, Don’t forget about the kids! When we opened Junior, I fought hard to hire folks with a specialty in children’s books and bookselling—or at least an interest in learning everything about it that they could.
I had one colleague on the adult side who was keen to make the jump to Junior, and it’s hard to imagine this past year without Kai by my side. I can’t tell you how many customers have DM’d me over the past year: “you weren’t there when I stopped by, but thankfully Kai was.” For someone who didn’t read as a kid, Kai now out-reads all of us. And watching them pack the house for their Once Upon a Book Club has been amazing
Kai’s good energy can light up a room - and a budding bookworm!
Kathryn, who used to work at Hooray for Books, has three kids of her own in the Alexandria public schools, and who seems to know every parent in a ten-mile radius, has focused on building up our educator program, and she and I have grown to share a brain. I pitch publishers to get a spot on an author’s tour and then, while I plan our in-store events, she masterfully handles all school visits. She has never backed away from the challenge of finding the perfect Northern Virginia or DC school to pair with an author, even when I’ve given her hardly any notice!
Kathryn is to thank for growing our wonderful school and educator program.
Adela is one of our newer booksellers, and the first time she led our Saturday storytime I knew we had a keeper. She has such a lovely manner with kids and parents alike, and she has shown so much initiative in asking questions and learning the books. When I returned from a conference in June fired up about the idea to create a book club for emerging readers, there was no question in my mind who I wanted to lead it.
Adela and her first book club pick.
Of course, none of us could do what we do without the fearless leadership of our GM, Cate. She’s always game to troubleshoot with me - whether it’s event logistics or technology challenges - and her steadiness, grace, and humor make all of our days better.
Always stacking one more thing onto Cate’s plate!
Ally: What trends in children’s books have you been most excited about this year?
Melissa: Authors and publishers finally seem to be responding to the concerning decline in reading for fun by meeting today’s young readers where they are. This includes thinking about how to create middle grade that isn’t necessarily a graphic novel but still scratches the itch for visual content and cinematic reading experiences. We’re seeing traditional middle grade embellished with gorgeous illustrations (like Afia in the Land of Wonders and The Midwatch Institute for Wayward Girls from this year’s Summer Reading Guide). We’re seeing interactive QR codes that let readers solve puzzles integral to the story (see the young YA novel, Codebreaker) or even talk to ghosts (The Last Resort). We’re seeing more mysteries, more thrillers (even murder done for young audiences, like Blood in the Water), more fantasy. Give the kids what they want and let’s get them reading!
Ally: What are your plans for next year? Anything exciting on the horizon you’re looking forward to?
Melissa: I’m excited to bring more favorite authors to the store. I want to do another middle-grade panel in the spring. I’m excited to continue to reach more educators and librarians so we can better support the incredible work they do. I want to get more kids signed up for our book clubs, where I’ve seen such magic happen. I’m excited to keep tweaking our tween and young teens sections to entice those ages to want to read for fun and stick with it, even in this age of endless distraction. I want to bring in more unique and irresistible gift items to pair with all these beautiful books, so that stepping into the store feels like a gift to the senses. I’m excited to read hundreds of new books and find the gems that rise to the top and then obsessively convince everyone to read them. I want to sleep more.
Ally: What do you hope kids (and parents!) take away from their visits to the store?
Melissa: That even if they come back every day for a year, they will always find something new to discover! I’ve always wanted the space to feel like a treasure trove of whimsical, meaningful curation that fills up the buckets of young and old alike and inspires all of us to make more time for story in our lives.
Thank you so much Melissa, for this convo and for all you’ve done for the bookstore and this community of readers. We’re so grateful for you! Here’s to a Year Two full of bookish magic!
