Kevin was a bit alarmed when he saw that the next leg of his Bookshop Tour involved flying to Richmond
and going into an Alligator’s Mouth. He didn’t know very much about
alligators, but he had an idea that they were rather spiky, unfriendly
characters and roly-poly flying ponies were probably better off not
going into their mouths.
But
the small flying alligator who turned up to guide him to Richmond
seemed nice enough, and so did the large and well-dressed one who was
waiting for him when he landed. And it turned out Kevin didn’t have to
go into its mouth, only into the bookshop, which was called ‘The Alligator’s Mouth’. It was all rather confusing really, but there was a nice big plate of custard creams for him, so Kevin didn’t mind.
Suitably fortified, but still a little wary, he went inside the shop to interview bookseller Helen.
Kevin: What’s the best thing about being an alligator - I mean, a bookseller?
Helen:
You mean, apart from the biscuit eating and tea drinking…? It’s
definitely the feeling of community and making connections with the
customers. There’s nothing better than finding the right book for the
right child and seeing their faces light up when they’re hooked by the
sound of a particular story.
Kevin: Mmmm, biscuit eating… What’s one way you’ve tackled a problem that your bookshop has faced during the pandemic?
Helen:
Shifting to online selling and recommending from home – without all the
shelves of books to choose from and getting to talk to the customers
face to face – was a big learning curve that took a little getting used
to at first. We offered customers the option of video calling us to try
to recreate the way we recommend in the shop, moved our weekly storytime
sessions online, and also started hand delivering to customers in the
local area.
Kevin: What are three books you absolutely love hand-selling to customers?
Helen: All the Ways to Be Smart by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys, Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure by Alex T. Smith, and You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson.
Kevin: Who is your favourite children’s book illustrator?
Helen: An impossible question to answer without reeling off a great list of names, but a perennial favourite is Joe Todd-Stanton.
Kevin: What is your favourite biscuit?
Helen: All of them! We enjoy many a kind of biscuit in Team Gator.
Kevin:
That is the Correct Answer! And finally, what is the best way for
people to buy books from you if they can’t visit the shop in person?
Helen: Online at thealligatorsmouth.co.uk!
You can follow The Alligator's Mouth on Instagram - alligatorsmouth - on Twitter - @alligatorsmouth - and on Facebook. And follow Kevin's tour at #
This September Scholastic will be publishing my new novel set in the world of Mortal Engines . Here’s the cover, created (like all the others in the series) by Ian McQue . The rule I set for myself when I was writing this one was that it shouldn’t feature any of the people or places from previous Mortal Engines books. So Thunder Cit y takes place just over a century before the original book, when the town-eat-town world of Traction Cities is slightly less ruthless than it will become later, and none of the characters from the original quartet has even been born yet. (I suppose Mr Shrike must be bimbling about somewhere, but he’s still just yer basic implacable killing machine at this point so there’s not much point in paying him a visit). So hopefully this new take will be accessible to people who’ve never read Mortal Engines , and hopefully people who have read it will enjoy an adventure set in the same world. My pen and ink drawing of the Traction City of Thorbury, after...
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