Season 5 Ep. 97 A Bookstore for Kids Galore with guest Caroline Stine

Today on the show we feature The Blue Marble bookstore which is in Ft. Thomas KY, just a skip across the river from Cincinnati, OH. It is a bookstore that serves children from birth to young adult. I first heard about The Blue Marble in an article about their Great Green Room.

If you have had children or grandchildren in the last 70 years, you have most likely read the bedtime classic, "Goodnight Moon" written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. At The Blue Marble, there is a recreated Great Green Room that includes everything from the comb and the brush and the bowl of mush to the quiet old lady who was whispering hush.

We delved a little deeper and learned that The Blue Marble was one of the first children’s bookstores in the country and that its founder, Tina Moore, was a pioneer in the field. Tina passed away in 2016, but our guest, Caroline Stine, has taken on the role of general manager and continues Tina’s mission for the store.

She’s giving the store a bit of a facelift, broadening their foreign language section, and has created an inviting area just for teens. She explains why The Blue Marble has been such a special place for young booklovers for over 30 years.

Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd
2- A Light In the Attic by Shel Silverstein
3- The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelson
4- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien
5- Matilda by Roald Dahl
6- The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don Wood
7- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
8- Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethaway
9- House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
10- Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo
11- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
12- Memento Monstrum by Jochen Til