future— the place where lifelong readers are formed, families gather and community takes root.
Adults may enter a bookstore looking for a specific title, but children enter with wonder. They come ready for imagination, discovery and belonging. A strong children’ s department recognizes this truth: children are not a side project. They are central to the mission.
Every thriving bookstore understands that lifelong patrons begin in the children’ s section. The child attending story time today may become the teenager buying fantasy novels tomorrow, the adult purchasing books for their own children years later, and eventually the grandparent continuing that tradition.
Parents understand this instinctively. Families consistently spend more on their children than they do on themselves. A parent may hesitate to purchase a hardcover book personally but will gladly invest in picture books, educational resources, early readers and gifts for their children.
Investing in children is not only good ministry— it is wise business. children experience the quiet joy of reading and imagination.
The atmosphere matters just as much as the inventory. Inviting displays, knowledgeable staff, comfortable spaces, story times and intentional events all communicate that children matter.
And they do matter.
Where the Industry Does Business
If Jesus stopped for children in the middle of changing the world, we should too. Children are not distractions from the mission. They are the mission.
We will explore this topic further during CPE’ s Industry Update, along with discussions about how platforms like Faire are impacting sales teams in our industry and how stores can strengthen their bottom line with a robust fiction department.
If you have not yet registered for CPE, I encourage you to do so today.
CPE is large enough to help you do business— you will discover new vendors, ideas and relationships every year. Yet it remains small enough to feel like family. And we cannot wait for this family reunion! CRA In a world increasingly dominated by screens and distractions, bookstores can become sanctuaries where continued on page 24 >>