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Whimsical, vibrant, playful and timeless – Blacksburg’s kiddos have a bookstore in town. With a finger on the pulse of the market and an undying love for books and children, Melissa Wood and The Little Bookworm have a new place in the heart of locals of all ages.
On South Main Street in Blacksburg, down the sidewalk from Blacksburg Books, The Little Bookworm has been open since last August, and it has already grabbed the attention of children and children-at-heart.
Wood’s story begins with her high school job at a bookstore in Northern Virginia that lasted for seven years. “I always had it in the back of my mind to bring a space like this to Blacksburg,” she states. Four kids and several years later, after earning her English degree, The Little Bookworm was launched.
The inspiration for the name? “Between my four children and my sister’s family, we came up with probably 100 names,” Wood laughs. “I believe it was one of my kids that had this idea. The response has been positive and supportive, and everyone’s happy to have a place like this in the New River Valley.”
Inside The Little Bookworm
Stepping into the book shop brings a warm, homey mix of both the classic and the novel. A mural painted on the left wall features Clifford, Madeline, the Mouse and the Cookie, the Little Engine that Could, and other lovable heroes against a backdrop of the New River Valley.
Roaming the bookstore is an entirely real and not fictional character that’s just as lovable – meet Leah, the tortoise. She’s six years old and loves her veggies; lettuce, cabbage and peppers are some of her favorites. “Kids expect her to be slow,” Wood states. She’s small but mighty, crawling through visitor’s legs and around bookshelves faster than its literary counterpart in The Tortoise and the Hare.
Speaking of the fable, Wood has learned – as many of us do – that owning a small book shop is a marathon, not a sprint. Like any new business, one of the biggest challenges is financial, along with finding a large enough customer base. Another obstacle is bringing creative ideas into a cohesive, concrete reality. “I have a lot of ideas, but getting them to come together is difficult,” Wood explains. Tying in with the local theme, stickers, teas, bath salts and postcards with well-loved local places give a rooted, community-oriented feel to the space.
The children’s store is interactively-oriented, hands-on and tactile. One side of a bookshelf is peppered with sticky notes under the heading, what books do you love? Visitors have varied tastes like Winnie the Pooh, the Babysitters’ Club, Anne of Green Gables, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and The Mysterious Benedict Society.
A bin with sensory items like rice and figurines, a hand-built train table with playmobil people, and a chalk wall with magnets, give kiddos hands-on and interactive experiences.
Classics like Miss Rumphius and Owl Moon grace the shelves, along with newer titles that appeal to up-and-coming Blacksburg youngsters. And, for the littlest ones, there’s a room full of board books, which is something near and dear to Wood’s heart as well.
Events at the Bookstore
The Little Bookworm hosts an array of story times. There are story times with a special guest for the preschoolers, and art and story combo classes that Wood’s sister hosts. The bookstore can be rented for to host baby showers and birthdays. The shop also has a cozy evening bedtime story time. “I can completely close the store, turn off the lights, and put on fun music in the background,” Wood says. Kids bring PJs and blankets and make themselves right at home.
Wood’s favorite part of owning the bookstore? “It’s hard to say,” she responds. “I love choosing new books and rediscovering others.” She also loves the relationship aspect it gives with the children. “Kids are so comfortable, they take their shoes off at the door. It’s like a second home.”
Wood’s favorite books include The Seven Silly Eaters, The Rattletrap Car, and My Father’s Dragon. Coming here is more than a visit to a bookstore – it’s an interactive and relational experience. Young visitors can look for Beatrice the bookworm hidden somewhere around the store, lift whimsically illustrated flaps on the wall, plunk out well-known tunes on a mini piano, and talk to the in-store mascot, Leah.
Full of heart and brimming with youth and playfulness, Melissa Wood and The Little Bookworm remember and capture what it’s like to be a kid. She has taught others, too, that a voracious love for reading doesn’t have to – and shouldn’t – end with entrance to the adulthood.
“My goal is for this to be more than a retail store.” Instead, her vision is of a cohesive and caring place where Blacksburg can gather. “I want it to be a community space,” she concludes.
Text by Caitlyn Koser
Photos by Joanne Anderson
Photos by Joanne Anderson
