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Author and La Jolla resident Zoe Ghahremani gives a reading to children at Bird Rock Bookshop on Oct. 25 as part of the BirdStock Music Festival. (Jodi Bratch)<\/p>\nA \u201cgrandma-owned and -operated\u201d children\u2019s bookstore will have its grand opening Saturday, Nov. 15, after welcoming its first batch of customers in October.<\/p>\n
Bird Rock Bookshop owner Jodi Bratch said the store is meant for children and young adults, carrying classic books alongside book-related gifts.<\/p>\n
The store at 5604 La Jolla Blvd. joins other La Jolla bookstores such as Warwick\u2019s, Barnes & Noble and D.G. Wills but is unique for its focus on children.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s such a perfect age to set the stage for children to be lifelong readers,\u201d Bratch said. \u201cI feel like children\u2019s bookstores are kind of evergreen, where there\u2019s always going to be children reading \u2014 this is the hope. And also they\u2019re reading books and turning pages. It\u2019s a very tactile experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bird Rock seemed a proper place for the store, she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt the community had space for it and it filled a need,\u201d Bratch said. \u201cThere\u2019s a charm and an identity that Bird Rock has, and a little children\u2019s bookstore seemed like a good fit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bratch said Bird Rock Bookshop is in a \u201cnookish location\u201d but she hopes it can become a fixture in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s tiny but mighty,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s going to be my goal for it \u2014 to have a good selection in such a tiny space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Author and La Jolla resident Zoe Ghahremani gives a reading to children at Bird Rock Bookshop on Oct. 25 as part of the BirdStock Music Festival. (Jodi Bratch)<\/p>\n
The bookshop\u2019s opening comes roughly two years after Bratch moved from southwest Florida to La Jolla to spend time with her daughter and young granddaughter.<\/p>\n
With more time on her hands and a desire to connect more deeply with her new community in Bird Rock, Bratch got to work on establishing Bird Rock Bookshop.<\/p>\n
Its debut comes amid renewed hope for bookstores. The Barnes & Noble chain announced this year that it plans to open 60 new stores across 17 states \u2014 one of which opened recently<\/a> in the La Jolla Village Square shopping center.<\/p>\n Furthermore, the American Booksellers Association<\/a>, which supports independent bookstores, said in its 2024 annual report that 323 brick-and-mortar, pop-up and mobile stores opened that year \u2014 marking the fourth year in a row of a boost of 200 or more.<\/p>\n Bratch believes that can be attributed to more stores being \u201cLGBTQ-friendly\u201d and consumers pushing back against book censorship.<\/p>\n She also theorized that people may be looking for book-finding alternatives as libraries cut hours, or they may simply want to experience visiting stores in person again rather than adding items to an online cart.<\/p>\n Bird Rock Bookshop participated in Banned Books Week Oct. 5-11, an annual event highlighting books that have been banned or censored. According to the American Library Association\u2019s<\/a> Office for Intellectual Freedom<\/a>, there were 821 attempts in 2024<\/a> to \u201ccensor library materials and services,\u201d including 2,452 unique book titles. In 2023<\/a>, it reported 1,247 attempts targeting 4,240 unique titles.<\/p>\n According to the ALA, 47% of the titles targeted for censorship in 2023 offered perspectives of the LGBTQIA+ community and Black, Indigenous and other people of color. It did not specify other types of topics.<\/p>\n Bird Rock Bookshop\u2019s hours have been \u201cspotty\u201d so far, Bratch said, but following the Nov. 15 grand opening, the store will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.<\/p>\n