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Reeve & McIntyre Big Up Bookshops 6: Book-ish, Crickhowell

 Kevin’s next stop was in Wales, the Land of Song, so he hummed a happy tune to himself as he flew over the Black Mountains.

Unfortunately he got a bit lost - what was the name of the town he was supposed to be landing at? Crickhollow? Crockhole? Cricklehill? None of those sounded quite right. He sat down on top of a handy mountain for a Think and a Restorative Biscuit, and while he was sitting there a small red dragon came by.

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“Hello Kevin!” said the dragon. “Do you need me to show around? This is the Land of my Fathers!”

“Belling!” said Kevin. “I didn’t know you were Welsh.”

“All dragons are Welsh, Kevin-bach,” said Belling. And when Kevin explained that he was looking for a bookshop called Book-ish, he said, “Oh, I know it well; it’s in Crickhowell, a pretty little town, not far from here.”

“I knew it was called Crickle-something,” said Kevin. He flew after Belling, and pretty soon they landed outside Book-ish.

“There you go, boyo,” said Belling, who was really getting into the whole Welsh thing. Kevin fancied another Restorative Biscuit, and he sniffed the air hopefully as he went inside to ask bookseller Emma Corfield-Waters some Important Questions…



Kevin: What is the best thing about being a bookseller?

Emma: Sharing the excitement of new stories with our customers.

Kevin: What’s one way you’ve tackled a problem that your bookshop has faced during the pandemic?

Emma: We took all our events and all our books online and built up an amazing book loving community with readers worldwide.

Kevin: What are three books you absolutely love hand-selling to customers?

Emma: Malamander by Thomas Taylor, The Lost Spells by Jackie Morris and Robert McFarlane, and Barbara Throws a Wobbler by Nadia Shireen.



Kevin: Who is your favourite children’s book illustrator? (Other than Reeve & McIntyre…)

Emma: Chris Riddell.

Kevin: What is your favourite biscuit?

Emma: Custard Cream!

Kevin: (Nodding wisely and eating a custard cream) This is the Correct Answer. Do you have a shop pet?

Emma: Yes, meet Ziggy, our new puppy!

 Ziggy: Wuff!



Emma: Have another Custard Cream.

Kevin: Thank you! What is the best way for people to buy books from you if they can’t visit the shop in person?

Emma: Our website, www.book-ish.co.uk

Kevin: Thank you for your answers, and all the custard creams!



Explore the Book-ish website and follow the team on Twitter - @Bookishcrick - Instagram - bookishcrickhowell - and Facebook!

#ReeveAndMcIntyreBigUpBookshops


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