Station Zero

  As Kevin flapped down to the next bookshop on his itinerary... ...he was surprised to see his friend Cardigan Faun waiting in the doorway. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "Oh, tidying the shelves," said Cardigan Faun. "And a little light dusting. This shop is called Through the Wardrobe , and if you call a shop that, you're bound to get fauns dropping in. Fauns and wardrobes are a Thing." "Oh, I see," said Kevin, who had no idea at all what Cardigan Faun was on about. But he could smell an interesting, bookish, biscuity sort of smell coming from inside the shop, so he followed Cardigan Faun inside, where bookseller Leanne Yeomans was waiting to meet him. Cardigan Faun went out to fetch them some cappuccinos, and Kevin cleared his throat and started his interview. Kevin : What is the best thing about being a bookseller? Leanne : Unpacking the books, reading the books, displaying the books...seeing the joy in the face of a chil...

  Kevin was sad to be leaving Scotland, where he had met some lovely booksellers and some lovely biscuits - but he was looking forward to meeting some English booksellers next, and trying their biscuits. A quick fly over Hadrian’s Wall brought him to Stockton-on-Tees , where he landed outside DRAKE The Bookshop . There were some café tables on the pavement outside the shop, but although they were very nice café tables, they hadn’t been designed to take the weight of a whole flying pony, especially not one as roly poly as Kevin... Oh no! Luckily Margot the bookshop beagle was on hand to help him clear up the mess, and as soon as the tables were upright again she took Kevin inside to meet bookseller Melanie Greenwood . Kevin : What is the best thing about being a bookseller? Melanie : It's definitely the excitement on a customer's face when they come in to tell you how much they loved the book you put in their hands - perhaps something they would never normally have ...

Kevin loved Scotland - the shining lochs, the shortbread, the heather-covered mountains, the kindly people, the shortbread… He made several shortbread stops as he flew east from Islay, and of course he had to make a detour to the Tunnocks factory, but before too long he reached Edinburgh. It was the biggest city Kevin had ever flown over: he got a bit confused by all the streets and towers and turrets, and accidentally knocked the top off something called the Scott Memorial, but he didn’t think anybody noticed. It turned out Edinburgh had a seaside bit called Portobello, with a wide sandy beach, and that was where he found The Portobello Bookshop . He landed outside, and bookseller Alice invited him for biscuits and questions. Kevin: What is the best thing about being a bookseller? Alice: The people I work with! It's always a pleasure going to the bookshop and working alongside such brilliant colleagues. Bookselling is also a very versatile and fulfilling job which all...

What with one thing another, Reeve & McIntyre haven’t had a chance to visit many bookshops lately - so we thought we’d send Kevin the Roly Poly Flying Pony on a grand bookshop tour for us. Kevin doesn’t know a lot about books, but he does like biscuits, and where there are booksellers there are almost certain to be biscuits… Kevin decided to begin his tour at The Celtic House bookshop on the isle of Islay. It was quite a long fly, over shining silvery sea and mountainous islands, but he was soon circling above the little town of Bowmore. The air was filled with the cry of gulls and the smell of peat from the whiskey distillery, and he could see the famous round church and the long main street running down to the harbour. The Celtic House was on a corner not far from the sea. Kevin landed outside, and was welcomed in by Colin , the owner, and Charlene , the manager. Kevin had some Very Interesting Questions for them, but first he needed biscuits. So he clip-clopped up ...