Dear Bookstore

This unabashed love letter to independent bookstores traces the crucial role they play. “Dear Bookstore, I remember the first time I ever visited you,” Arrow’s narrator intones as Godbout captures in velvety spreads a young child spotting a book in a shop window, then entering to welcome and belonging. Though the child’s wishes differ with each visit (“I wanted a mystery...// or an adventure!”), the bookstore grants them all. Godbout’s spreads visualize the “magic” that flows through books, illuminating them with a glow. When the pale-skinned narrator, older now, hears that bookstores are closing, they’re relieved to find that their beloved shop is still there, in this work about bookstores as places that can be counted on. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note concludes. Ages 3–7. (Mar.)