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Reeve & McIntyre Big Up Bookshops 9: The Bookcase

 Kevin’s stay at Halfway Up the Stairs in Greystones had been fun, but he had basically finished all the biscuits in Ireland (sorry about that, Irish biscuit lovers), so he decided it was time to flap back across the sea to England. The next shop on his list was The Bookcase, in the village of Lowdham, eight miles north of Nottingham.



"More than just a bookshop" was its motto, and when Kevin arrived in Lowdham he found that was true - The Bookcase was also an Active Crime Scene! As Kevin swooped in to land a tiny, red getaway car driven by a tiny, furry criminal came screeching around the corner of the shop. The car was stuffed with a stolen book, and among the flowers in the window-box another fluffy wrong-doer lurked, ready to leap aboard as it sped by.

The robbers were none other than Bumbleford’s own guinea-pig Bonnie-and-Clyde-alikes Neville and Beyoncé, enjoying another crime spree.

“Floor it, Bey!” squeaked Neville, as he vaulted out of the window-box with his ill-gotten paperback. “We’ll be safe across the Derbyshire border before they can catch us, and we’ll sell these valuable books for a whole load of sunflower seeds!”



Luckily, Kevin’s friend Max was waiting at the shop to meet him, and they were used to fighting crime together. Kevin sat down very firmly on the pavement in front of the car, and Max scooped the startled guinea pigs out of it as it bounced off Kevin’s bottom.

“You may have outwitted us this time,” squeaked Beyoncé, as Max put them in a shoe box ready to take them home to Bumbleford, “but the world will hear from us again!’

Ignoring the muffled threats from inside the shoe-box, Kevin and Max carried the stolen books back into the shop. Bookseller Jane Streeter was very grateful for their help. Would there be a reward, wondered Kevin? And would it come in the form of biscuits? But first he had to ask Jane some Serious Questions.



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

Jane: Talking with customers about books we love and witnessing the "falling in love with books" process in our younger customers!

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

Jane: We put on lots of story trails for families in local woods and sold craft packs to accompany each story - this kept us in touch with customers in a really positive way when we couldn't hold physical events.

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

Jane: Oh gosh, that's too hard! It changes all the time - at the moment it's Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell, Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce and the  Little People, Big Dreams series.*



*These were precisely the books Neville and Beyoncé had been trying to steal.

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

Jane: Shirley Hughes

Kevin: What is your favourite biscuit?

Jane: Hobnob

Kevin: Ahhh, the classics. Would you have any around at all? I want to remind myself what they taste like.

Jane: Plain, or chocolate?

Kevin: Both, please!

(Five minutes later…)

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

Jane: Call us on 0115 966 4143 or via our online shop!



Visit The Bookcase's website - thebookcase.co.uk - keep track of their events here, and you can follow The Bookcase on Instagram - thebookcaselowdham - and on Facebook.
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