Thirty-five years after founding Children’s Book World in a storefront next door to the Haverford, Pa., train station on Philadelphia’s Main Line, Hannah Y. Schwartz died on Friday, November 8, in Haverford. She was 87. Among her survivors is her daughter, Heather Hebert, who has operated the store alongside her mother for the past 20 years. According to a recent profile of the store, Schwartz continued to work there weekly, even into her ‘80s, as Hebert transitioned from manager into owner.
"She will be missed by all who have known her," read a statement posted on the bookstore's website: "Her dear friends, her loyal customers, the authors and illustrators whom she so respected, members of the bookselling community near and far who have interacted with her, the educators who valued her knowledge, the staff of Children's Book World past and present who always felt more like family than employees, and most of all, her own family who cherished her guidance and wisdom, her sense of humor, and her love for so many years."
Schwartz was born and grew up in Shamokin, Pa. and attended Pennsylvania State University. In July 1989, Schwartz, who was previously an English teacher at Lower Merion High School and then a bookseller at the Book House in Ardmore, opened Children’s Book World in a 1,200-square-foot space on Haverford Station Road, where it still is located. The store is well-known on the touring children’s author circuit as a convenient stop between New York City and Washington, D.C., and its visiting authors have included Chelsea Clinton, Jeff Kinney, and J.K. Rowling.
In the late ‘90s, Main Line Today reported, the store held a spontaneous book signing by Tomie dePaola, who had fled from a chain bookstore down the street after nobody showed up at the signing his publicist had arranged there. “ ‘Hannah!’ he shouted to owner Hannah Schwartz. ‘You won’t believe what they had me do.’ Right then and there, dePaola started signing his books at Schwartz’s shop. Word spread quickly, drawing a crowd.”
According to a recent USA Today profile of the store, Schwartz wanted to operate a children’s bookstore “that was ‘big enough to serve you, small enough to know you.’” An unnamed store representative said, in that profile, “Being a children’s focused store has also enabled us to work closely with schools in many districts surrounding our store. By providing book fairs, author visits, curriculum consultation, and educator programs we have been able to spread the love of reading beyond our walls.”
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Schwartz’s memory may be made to Reach Out and Read Greater Philadelphia.
