Each year I try to come back to the UK to visit family and friends. We couldn’t come last year for obvious reasons, but we’re here now and - despite the pelting rain and mizzly skies - I couldn’t be more grateful or excited.
There is a book shop in Cirencester called Octavia’s and it has always been a highlight for my kids whenever we come over. But this past year has been challenging and heartbreaking for so many small businesses and I was worried it might not have survived the pandemic. It HAS. I went a bit mad and bought a huge stack of new books by writers they love - many of whom are not so well known in the States. (Except for um, Michelle Obama who has released a version of Becoming for young adults.)
Anyway, as we left I was dimly aware that two years have passed since we were last here and I’m not sure how much longer my kids will be shopping in the ‘children’s’ section of any shop, let alone a bookshop. I hope the stories we got today, in fact all the stories we’ve bought from here over the years, stay with them in one way or another.
There’s something magical about a child’s eye view of the world, which is sort of what Octavia and her team are selling. In a way, we all need shops like this. So if you’re ever in the Cotswolds, look it up if you can. Independent bookstores need all the help they can get at the moment. And yes, if you can’t visit in person, they can ship your order too, perhaps not by owl, but Royal Mail will do.
Octavia’s Bookshop website - for more information on recommended reads, book club and orders.
Some of the books we got excited about and their authors:
Podkin One-Ear by Kieran Larwood
Kat Wolfe On Thin Ice by Lauren St John
Death Sets Sail by Robin Stevens
Circus Maximus by Annelise Gray
Bodyguard Hostage by Chris Bradford
Prince of Ponies by Stacy Gregg
You Are a Champion by Marcus Rashford - Booktrust article
Becoming - Adapted for younger readers - Michelle Obama review
The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L.D. Lapinski