The economic downturn has not been kind to local
bookstores: Look no further than the recent closure of 23rd Avenue
Books, or In Other Words’ funding crisis last winter. Factor in dire
prognostications about the publishing industry in general, and now
might not seem like the best time to open a new bookstore—but
after spending half an hour inside Green Bean Books, a just-opened
children’s bookstore on NE Alberta, it’s hard to feel anything but
optimistic about the shop’s future. In fact, it’s virtually impossible
to overstate the charm of this little place: After visiting, I’m half
inclined to start squirting out babies myself, just so I’ll have an
excuse to go back.
Former Portland Public School teacher Jennifer Green opened the
store on July 9. In her decade as a schoolteacher, Green acquired not
only the shelf-loads of books that provided Green Bean’s “seed stock,”
but also an intuitive understanding of what appeals to children: The
bookstore feels like a clubhouse, its kid-sized reading nooks packed
with weird little treasures.
“I want it to be a living space,” Green tells me. To that end,
there’s more on the shelves than just books: A vintage cigarette
machine has been converted to sell handmade finger puppets; an old
tampon machine dispenses homemade beards and moustaches; boxes made
from wood reclaimed at the Rebuilding Center house tiny dioramas. Kids
on a budget can buy a fuzz ball with googly eyes from a vending machine
for 10 cents a pop.
The books themselves bear scrutiny as well, and the diversity of new
and used titles is immediately impressive. Alongside the typical
offerings for beginning and middle readers, there’s a foreign language
section that includes books in French, Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian,
and Swahili; a graphic novel section; a shelf of resources for
teachers; and a tiny but well-curated selection of adult titles (Junot
Díaz and Aleksandar Hemon, anyone?).
“I like little, indie bookstores, and they seem like a dying breed,”
Green observes. “But I really think that if any city can support
something like this, it’s Portland.”
Green Bean’s official grand opening is Thursday, July 30. Green
promises “books, balloons, and snow cones”—and a chance to
explore the kind of bookstore that could convince even the most
reluctant kid to take up reading.