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Face it, Tattered Cover is likely your go-to bookstore. Most Denverites share fond memories of hours-long book-browsing at the company’s former LoDo location, often leaving with a newly discovered author or a shared bond with like-minded bibliophiles. Now, Tattered Cover aims to inspire that same lit-loving nostalgia with its kid-centric bookstore, which opened this past Saturday, June 26 at Stanley Marketplace.
The comparatively smaller, 1,400-square-foot space focuses on books for children ages zero to 13, in addition to a small selection of parenting books. “I think there’s a gap between people who are younger than me who haven’t quite had the seismic sort of opportunities at Tattered Cover,” says CEO Kwame Spearman. “This is an opportunity to really change that.”
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The new kid-centric location will be inclusive and diverse, mixing classic children’s books with new and up-coming titles. Best of all, the children’s bookstore includes a reading corner under a tree-like structure—an area designated for kids to grab a book, sit in a comfortable area, and read or relax. Tattered Cover Kids will also host community reading events.
“We are evolving Tattered Cover, and one of the things that we really want to focus on is having an experience for our customers,” Spearman says. “The difference between positive and negative outcomes for kids is tied to literacy. [I believe] that opening a store like this is going to help kids fall even deeper in love with books. That’s just a huge, huge opportunity, and it’s totally in alignment with our mission.”
Spearman stresses the importance of inclusion—that “scores of different languages are being spoken in [Aurora’s community].” The layout and offerings at the new location will reflect this, too, with additions that are mindful of the area’s diverse demographics. (For instance, readers will find a foreign language section next to the checkout stand.) “The greatest way to ask people to come into our stores is to let them feel represented within our stores,” Spearman says. “We’re trying to become a community institution, and that means understanding our surroundings, being welcoming to everyone, and really having a place where people can interact and have fun.”
This location also holds a large selection of non-fiction books, graphic novels, picture books, and more, with puzzles and stuffed animals also available for purchase. Spearman adds that future Tattered Cover locations aim to offer an array of experiences for every type of Denverite—for instance, bookworms can get their wine game on at Tattered Cover’s new bookstore coming to Westminster around Labor Day.
Tattered Cover Kids is open Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.