Kepler's Kids

Although Kepler’s had a top-notch children book section and occasional children and youth events before the bookstore closed in 2005, when it reopened that October, the staff and supporters of Kepler’s had a newfound appreciation — and new visions — for their mission.

“We thought about why the store had been resurrected,” said Vivian Leal, the director of youth and family events. “We’re a cultural center, not just a bookstore and we provide communities with support.”

With that in mind, Kepler’s decided to expand its role in the community by developing a detailed program of youth initiatives. What began with a handful of author visits in the beginning of 2006 has blossomed into a bustling calendar packed with events for children and young adolescents, many conducted in partnership with schools, libraries and other organizations.

“Our programs over the last 12 months reached about 18,000 youth from pre-school to high school age,” says Ms. Leal.

Led by department manager and children’s book buyer Antonia Squire, the Kepler’s Youth and Children’s Department, fondly known as Kepler’s Kids, is now made up of eight children’s specialists — five who work on the floor and three who work on programs.

All eight share a common goal. “We want to excite the next generation of Kepler’s readers,” Ms. Leal says.

Binding author to reader

At the core of the flourishing Kepler’s Kids program is the youth author speaker series. Every few weeks, authors will come and read parts of their writing, speak about their creative process and answer questions. The children’s staff ties to plan readings that are engaging and interactive, with an understanding that children can only squirm in a chair for so long.

“In the events, we try to take the message of the book and enforce it, to deepen the reader’s relationship with the ideas that came from the book,” youth events coordinator Angela Kroner-Grafmiller explains.

Ms. Kroner-Grafmiller and Ms. Leal believe that making authors accessible to children — bridging the gap between author and reader — can have a powerful impact on children’s lives.

“The book no longer just belongs to the author — it belongs to you [the reader],” Ms. Squire says.

Among prominent authors who have spoken at Kepler’s are fantasy writer Francesa Lia Block; novelist Laurie Halse Anderson, acclaimed writer of “Speak”; and picture book author Bob Barner.

Recently, author Sherman Alexie came to Kepler’s to speak about his new book, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian,” which is based on his experiences growing up on a Spokane Indian Reservation. In the next month, author Nancy Farmer, a resident of Menlo Park who has written popular novels such as “The Ear, The Eye and the Arm,” and notable author Nick Hornby will visit the store to talk about their newest works.

The children’s specialists devotedly pore over dozens of books a week so that they can develop personalized recommendations and decide which authors they want to invite to the store.

“If we don’t love the author, we don’t bring them,” Ms. Leal says. “The threshold is very high.”

Although the youth and children’s department staff selects the visiting authors with much deliberation and care, they are committed to bringing in authors from a multitude of genres, schools of thought and walks of life.

“We want to maintain freedom of thought and maintain the open forum that Kepler’s has stood for for 52 years — that’s not going to change,” Ms. Leal says.

Change of setting

As part of the youth author speaker series, Kepler’s invites authors to talk with students at local schools and libraries, including those that may not have the resources to host high-profile guests. The goal, says Jean Forstner, who runs Kepler’s community partners program, is to extend the benefits of the author visits to the community at large.

In working with schools, Kepler’s makes an effort to choose authors that correspond with that school’s curriculum, Ms. Forstner says.

In November 2006, Kepler’s jumpstarted its library initiative by bringing the popular young adult author Tamora Pierce to the Menlo Park Library. According to Michelle Barrese, the youth services manager at the library, about 300 adolescents crowded the main lobby on a Friday night to listen to Ms. Pierce read her stories, speak about being an author and answer questions.

“It was magical to see Ms. Pierce connect with the readers for hours,” Ms. Barrese says. “These events can introduce kids to the library who may not have ever come before, and connect them with books.”

Tell me a story

Walk into Kepler’s on a typical Sunday morning, and you will probably notice clusters of children, sitting attentively as someone reads to them from the colorful pages of a picture book. From 11:30 to 12:30 on most Sundays, children ages 3 to 7, along with their parents, are invited to Kepler’s for the magical hour of story time.

Although Kepler’s children staff often run story time, they also bring in local authors of picture books to read to the children.

Story times are interactive and fun, Ms. Leal says. Just a few weeks ago, author and skateboarding mom Barb Odanaka treated young listeners to a story and then demonstrated her skateboarding savvy outside the store.

Occasionally, Kepler’s partners with other organizations to add a new dimension to story time. In March for example, volunteers from Common Ground, a Palo Alto nonprofit organization that serves as a gardening and educational resource, came to Kepler’s to help children plant seeds after they listened to several nature stories.

Another fun story time event is just around the corner. On Sunday, Sept. 30, at 11:30 a.m., the Menlo Park Police Department’s K-9 unit and their dogs will visit Kepler’s to share a story about a German shepherd police dog, and then discuss the unit’s role in the community.

Around 25 to 30 families bring their children to story time every week, hoping to foster a love of reading, Ms. Kroner-Grafmiller says.

Stephanie Seeger of Menlo Park makes regular visits with her 2-year-old son, Henry. She thinks of Kepler’s as the “neighborhood bookstore” that harkens back to the smaller, personal stores from her childhood. “Everybody is here to find good books and it’s so well organized,” she says. “It’s a nice place to bring my son.”

Menlo Park resident Lynn Auslander echoes Ms. Seeger’s affection for Kepler’s. She says she brings her children to the store as much as she can and likes that she can let them explore freely because of the enclosed nature of the children’s area. “I hope that they will come to the store when they are older and just hang out,” she adds.

Crafting mood and tone

The youth and children’s department at Kepler’s bookstore is in itself an immense effort. Although it primarily houses a carefully selected and scrupulously categorized range of books, it also stands as a safe alcove where children can curl up and escape into faraway lands.

“We want to create a space that is comfortable,” Ms. Antonia says.

To assess which books should be housed and sold in the department, she reads more than 50 picture books and about six-to-seven chapter books a week.

“I read like a kid,” she says with a laugh. “I read like a 12-year-old boy, and I can get that boy on my side.”

In line with Kepler’s community-minded efforts, she works to make sure that the books she orders mirror the needs of her customers.

“As part of my job, I need to know what my community likes and where their overall interests lie; this community is not homogenous by any means, so I have to bring in a wide spectrum of books,” she says.

She emphasizes the forethought that goes into deciding what books to purchase. “Everything you read as a child influences you for the rest of your life,” she says.

Ms. Squire says the children themselves can be her best resources. She makes an effort to talk to them as they meander about the store. “They are the ones who are reading the books, so it’s important to talk to them and listen to them.”

The books she purchases are arranged and organized by genre and age. High-school students, for instance, have their own separate bookshelf apart from the rest of young adult books. “The parents have to know that when their 12-year-old daughter comes to Kepler’s, she won’t be given something inappropriate,” she says.

The pages in between

Amidst the author visits and story time events, Kepler’s provides a range of other programs for young readers and their families.

Families can subscribe online to “Book Blasts,” a monthly e-newsletter filled with information on newly released books, including reviews written by staff members. Kepler’s also features book reviews and staff recommendations on its Web site at keplers.com.

The newsletter also provides detailed, personalized context for parents who are at a loss when it comes to understanding what their children might want to read. “Often, parents feel alienated from children’s literature,” Ms. Kroner-Grafmiller says. “The newsletter can help the dialogue begin.”

To bridge the gap between children and adults, Kepler’s annually invites local librarians, teachers and parents to the store for a “Diva’s Night,” when staff members and publishers discuss new children’s books. This year’s Diva’s Night will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2.

“The event helps build excitement,” explains Ms. Leal. “It also provides valuable information on what’s new and high quality in literature, especially for librarians who are hard-pressed with budgets.”

On top of trying to provide the community with a thorough understanding of the ins and outs of current kids’ reads, Kepler’s now works with local organizations and groups that express interest in hosting their programs at the store because of the larger space and potentially bigger turnouts.

From welcoming a spelling bee for SCORE (Schools of California Online Resources for Education) to hosting a local poetry slam, Kepler’s invites groups to use the store’s space for free.

Also, Kepler’s hosts book fairs for schools that are interested in a smaller, more personalized version of the more typical, corporate book fairs. The staff will work with the teachers and librarians at each school to ensure that the books will be tailored to meet their needs, says Ms. Forster. Kepler’s staff members help set up and take down the fair displays, and staff the fairs so that they can talk to parents and students and offer book reviews and recommendations.

Among schools that have made use of Kepler’s book fairs are Palo Verda Elementary School in Palo Alto, St. Joseph’s School in Atherton, and Phillips Brooks School and Trinity School in Menlo Park.

You might also be surprised to learn that Kepler’s sponsors a Little League team, Kepler’s Klobberers. According to Ms. Squire, the store ran a baseball story time as a benefit for the team, and provided each player with a Kepler’s water bottle. Members of the Kepler’s staff go to the games, cheering in the stands as coach Larry Kelmar leads his team of Little Leaguers.

“We try to do whatever we can to support the community,” Ms. Leal says.

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