How Booked is building a community one stellar reading recommendation at a time

Independent bookstores are the heartbeats of their communities. They provide culture and community, generate local jobs and sales tax revenue, promote literacy and education, champion and center diverse and new authors, connect readers to books in a personal and authentic way, and actively support the right to read and access to books in their communities.

Each week we profile an independent bookstore, sharing what makes each one special and getting their expert and unique book recommendations.

This week we have Booked in Evanston, Illinois!

What’s your store’s story?

Chelsea Elward, a lifelong Evanstonian, opened Booked in 2018 as Chicagoland’s first children’s focused independent bookstore — and the only one with a tiny door just for kids. Today, the store is owned by two employees, Abby Dan and Betsy Haberl. 

Recently, we’ve filled the shelves, launched weekly kids’ programming (including two trans and nonbinary Dungeons & Dragons Groups for tweens and teens), expanded the adult section, and added adult book clubs! 

Our aim is to be a community space and a community asset, helping Evanston’s families, schools, congregations and businesses connect through books.

What makes your independent bookstore unique?

We’re the store with the tiny door! (Technically, our door is called a “wicket,” but Evanstonians and visitors know that we’ve got a little door within a door just for kids.)

We love to see them confidently (or nervously) striding through our tiny door to find a magical space with books at their level, a cozy rainbow rug, as well as puzzles and toys. 

We’re a storytime spot for a fleet of toddler parents and caregivers, thanks to our musically talented and enthusiastic staff. We also host our trans and nonbinary Dungeons & Dragons group, began with four kids and has expanded to a weekly after-hours event for tweens and teens. And as we’ve grown and curated our adult shelves, we’ve built two enthusiastic, committed book clubs: Booked Club (which reads literary fiction and nonfiction) and Sunday Smut (which reads modern romance). 

Many community members come in to talk books with us, and we love building these relationships. Most importantly, we are all hand-sellers. You tell us what you need, what you’re feeling, what you want to feel or communicate with a gift, and we can find you the right title.

What’s your favorite section in your store?

I love our Middle Grade section — there is just so much depth there! Middle Grade authors are doing everything from talking dogs to neurodivergent narrators in verse to dragon flights to dust bowl family sagas to elite private schools and everything in between. 

I love it when parents or grandparents come in with a great idea of who their kid is but no idea what they should read next. We always have something new or different, and we love it when they come back to tell us we nailed it!

Why is shopping at local, independent bookstores important?

Evanston is everything to Abby and Betsy — we both live here, send our kids to schools here, employ fellow Evanstonians, spend our own money at local businesses. 

Booked is a physical place where kids and adults can come to gather and shop, but we’re also a community entity that gets diverse books into classrooms, homes, shelters and other community spaces. We bring authors to the community and its schools, and we bring people of all ages together. Without customers, we can’t add this layer of richness to Evanston, enrich the lives we touch, and we can’t be a cool spot to pick out great stickers. We just won’t be here.

Check out these titles recommended by Booked owner, Abby Dan:

• “The Sentence” by Louise Erdrich
• “Shark Heart” by Emily Habeck
• “Finally Heard” by Kelly Yang
• “The Other Valley” by Scott Alexander Howard
• “Sheine Lende” by Darcie Little Badger
• “Funny Story” by Emily Henry
• “The Birchbark House” by Louise Erdrich
• “Pretty Ugly” by David Sedaris