Walk into The Storybook Shoppe and walk into a different world. It's a world with talking bears looking for their honey, a pesky rabbit with a penchant for getting into trouble, a pair of hippopotami best friends and a brave, little French girl — to name a few colorful characters.
It's a world Nancy Beaupre, owner of The Storybook Shoppe, carefully created for moms, dads and children. The brightly colored book nook is neatly tucked into Old Bluffton's historic Calhoun Street, across from The Cottage restaurant. Children can be seen meandering her store, thumbing through hundreds of books, where every page awaits an adventure.
“'Oh, Miss Nancy, let me tell you about my favorite book',” Beaupre recalls her little fans saying. “And sometimes they tell me about a book I didn't know about.”
Finding a children's book that Beaupre doesn't know about is a difficult feat. Beaupre has a personal collection of more than 2,000 children's books. From the ABCs to young adult literature and from classic stories to modern fair, books are in her blood.
“I have loved books ever since I was a child — starting with a gift from my aunt, a Beatrix Potter book,” said Beaupre, sitting at a round, green children's table at the back of her shop. “ … I remember from my own childhood such happy memores from the books I read.”
Beaupre's expert knowledge and impeccable taste in children's literature are well known in the area. The Storybook Shoppe received The Beaufort Gazette's 2010 Reader's Choice Award for “Best Bookstore,” when it was located in Habersham.
Beaupre graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in child development. She worked and studied closely with a children's literature consultant in college. She also ran two nursery schools in Michigan.
“Working with this consultant in literature, gave me an appreciation for the best books for children and not just getting them anything,” she said.
Every book that lines The Storybook Shoppe's shelves or stacked decoratively along the tabletops were carefully selected and reviewed by Beaupre, who researches books through The Horn Book Magazine and the School Library Journal, premier children's literature resources.
“Seventy-five percent of my books in the store are either award winners – Newbery and Caldecott books — or they have been highly recommended by people highly regarded in the field of children's literature,” she said.
Just because a book is an award winner doesn't necessarily mean it makes Beaupre's cut. Recently, she ordered several copies of a certain young-adult book “that shall remain nameless,” and she immediately pulled it off the shelf because it “was terrible for children,” Beaupre said.
“You can't always judge a book by it's cover,” she said. “I really try to prevent parents from spending good money for something that isn't a quality book.”
This begs the question: What are some of Beaupre's favorites?
Beaupre immediately bounces off her chair, heading over to some white bookshelves and exclaiming, “There are so many …”
The Penderwicks. The George and Martha series. Little Brown Bear. Make Way for Ducklings. Charlotte's Web. Brothers. The Wind in the Willows. The Jolly Postman.
“Dimity Dumpty: The Story of Humpty Dumpty's Little Sister,” Beaupre said. “Tumtum and Nutmeg, another one of my favorites. And I just sold the last one.”
Beaupre is captivated by children's books, inside and out. The words on the page help conjure images in her head, and the meaningful illustrations leave a lifelong impression.
Beaupre pulls out a copy of Adele & Simon by Barbara McClintock and runs her hand along an intricately drawn landscape as if it would break.
“Look at that detail,” Beaupre said. “On every page, Simon loses something … I think kids should have all kinds of illustrations. Illustrations add so much to the story for younger children especially.”
As much fun as Beaupre has with the books she sells, she has even more fun interacting with children — maybe even teaching them something in the process.
The Storybook Shoppe is located in Old Bluffton, along Calhoun Street, which is a perfect destination for the growing families in Bluffton.
“It's a great place. There's a farmer's market on Thursdays,” Beaupre said. “It's perfect.”
The Storybook Shoppe is a warm, cozy place, where it's easy to get lost inside the pages of a book, whether it's a new tale that catches the eye or an old friend welcoming you back.
“I love when children start reading and then they start dreaming and think about possibilities they had not thought of before,” Beaupre said. “Dreaming should be a part of everyone's life, young and old.”
The Storybook Shoppe
843-757-2600
storybookshoppe@aol.com
www.TheStorybookShoppe.com
Located at 41-A Calhoun Street in Bluffton, SC
