Illustrations from classics such as “Winnie the Pooh,” “The Snowy Day” and “The Dot” cover the arched mural above stacks of books.
Standing beneath the mural was Bruce Jacobs, one half of the retired married couple who opened the new children’s bookstore Turtle Books in Brookline Village this weekend. Misty-eyed, he thanked the crowd.
“It’s been amazing,” Bruce said at Saturday’s grand opening. “Thank you for all the support from the community.”
Bruce and his wife, Cathy Jacobs hope to make the store a community space for children and parents alike. They want the store to serve as a resource for families to help toddlers through young adults “form lifelong habits of reading,” Bruce said.
Turtle Books, at 224 Washington St., held author events, live music, book giveaways and a puppet show as part of its grand opening weekend, Nov. 15 and 16.
Inside the store, the crowd buzzed. Children peeked curiously at a turtle in a tank before casting their votes for its name. Parents read aloud to kids perched on their knees. Shoppers browsed the shelves, reminiscing about old favorites and checking out new titles.
T-shirts with a turtle logo hung for sale. Printed on them is some “turtle wisdom,” the couple stumbled upon, Bruce said: “Be comfortable in your own shell. Travel at your own speed and keep moving forward.”
The Jacobses credited the “brilliance” and creative hands that helped shape the store’s joyful interior.
Samantha Polinsky, 28, worked on the brick building facades that sit atop the store’s bookshelves. While working on the installation, she said passersby were “begging to come inside.”
“It is so clearly something that people desire to have in their space,” Polinsky said. “The children are really excited about it. I haven’t seen one kid on a cellphone since being in here.”
The Jacobses said they’ve noticed declining reading engagement among children. They hope to help children break the addictive habits of technology and encourage better reading habits. The store has a youth advisory board, where children can suggest titles to stock and take home Advanced Reader Copies of unpublished books.
“We wanted this to be a place where kids really had a voice and a presence and influence in terms of what books we provided,” Cathy said.
Sophia Day, 30, an adjunct professor and artist, painted the mural for Turtle Books, a project she called a “dream job.” She and her mother have been working on authoring their own children’s book over the past year.
As a teacher, Day emphasized the importance of spaces like children’s bookstores in building community.
“That love of reading needs to start so early, and having spaces like this where you can come in as a kid and really feel the magic and the care… is essential,” Day said. “It’s incredible what they are doing here.”
State Sen. Cynthia Creem and State Rep. Tommy Vitolo attended the grand opening. Speaking to the crowd, both stressed the importance of community engagement and fighting book bans.
“Book bans are not just attacks on literature,” Creem said. “They are attacks on our values, our free expression, our honest history, and the right for every young person to see themselves in the stories around them.”
Creem read Kelly DiPucchio’s “Grace for President,” which tells the story of a young girl who runs for class president after learning the US has never had a female president.
For Lynn Johnson and Julia Gittleman, Turtle Books fills the void left by The Children’s Bookshop, which closed in 2022, just across the street.
“We were so excited to hear they were starting the children’s book store,” Johnson said. “We had missed the old children’s bookstore.”
The Children’s Bookshop and the Pierce School community were deeply intertwined, Gittleman said. The two organizations held a poetry contest that showcased children’s poems in the storefront.
The Jacobses hope to connect with local school systems to host events and provide summer reading books. Their advisory board includes a retired teacher from Pierce and a librarian from Lincoln School, they said.
“I think [the store’s] going to be really successful,” Gittleman said. “I have no question about that.”
One of Cathy’s favorite children’s books is Peter H. Reynolds’ “The Dot.” The Dedham author tells the story of a girl who, convinced she can’t draw, is encouraged by her art teacher to make a mark — a single dot that leads to a journey of discovery and exploration of creativity.
“In a way, this is like ‘The Dot,’” Cathy said. “It started with a little idea, and it can grow.”