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Chico Marx (Duck Soup)

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Review of children's bookstores around Yarraville

The western Melbourne suburb of Yarraville is practically flooded with young families, filled to the brim with babies, toddlers, youngsters of all ages. Perfect setting then for several top notch dedicated children’s bookstores.

Two fabulous bookshops that openbookmelb will review include: JP Junior Everlasting Books, and an extension of the Sun Bookshop in Yarraville Village, the Younger Sun.

JP Junior Everlasting Books is an offshoot of JP Books an education bookseller and stockist catering to several independent schools around Melbourne. The Yarraville shop is run by one of the booksellers Dharma as an adjunct to the main business, and a personal passion of her own; as she says, ”The shop is filled with all the books that I loved growing up with.”

The store is located on Somerville Road Yarraville, unmistakeable with its outside wall festooned with a very cute mural.

(Of which my young bookshop tester enjoyed larking about with!)

Inside the store there is plenty of space, necessary for the large gatherings of young families—a weekly cyclonic pram city—assembling there every Thursday at 11am for Dharma’s entertaining book reading.

The store’s collection of both illustrated and AYA books is impressive to say the least. Every favourite author and illustrator is foreseeably covered along the bookshelf display, or in easy to find slipcases.

JP Junior is a fantastic bookshop and a wonderful addition to the local community. Get on down there, and enjoy chatting with someone as knowledgeable and passionate about children’s books as Dharma. A must for all fans of children’s books, young or old.

The Younger Sun (cute pun!) is an offshoot of Yarraville Village’s very successful and well-loved independent store, the Sun Bookshop, which is located adjacent to the historic Sun Theatre—an art deco masterpiece, restored and still thriving with packed crowds of cinema goers. The Younger Sun grew too large for the adult shop, and stepped across the road to a cosy space just about right for the intended reading age.

Inside it is fabulously well stocked with the latest and best of children’s literature and AYA books, puzzles, stuffed characters from picture books, plus it’s staffed by incredibly helpful and informative booksellers.

The store’s only drawback may be the very tight space inside, but only when it is busy with multiple shoppers at the same time. But generally, the shop is a fantastic space for finding that special book or something for the right niece or nephew, or indeed your youngest son. Highly recommended.

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