Once upon a time, a long time ago,
in March 1979,
Valerie Lewis, Jan Gottlieb, Georgia Osborne and Vicki Villarreal
Opened the doors to Hicklebee's,
An independent bookstore specializing in books for
Children and young adults, on Lincoln Avenue
In the Willow Glen section of San Jose, California.
As new members of the Willow Glen Merchants Association,
The Hicklebee's partners joined with the City of San Jose
To plant trees along Lincoln Avenue;
It's been their address for 30 years.
Today those sycamore trees' roots are as deeply planted
On the avenue in Willow Glen
As Hicklebee's own.
Valerie's sister, Monica Lewis Holmes,
Soon joined the owner-partnership.
Together they helped create the Northern California Children's Booksellers Association;
Conducted preview presentations for teachers,
And set up author events for local reading councils,
Schools and libraries.
Artists Steve and Carol Schweppe established
The Hicklebee's Hall of Fame.
It began with the acorn that landed on
Chicken Little's head,
A tooth that Doctor De Soto pulled,
And soon spilled over from its special display case and onto the walls--
The Ghost Eye Tree dummy sent by Ted Rand
That shows children how a book is planned;
The plume from the smart red hat worn by the cat
In Fred Marcellino's Puss in Boots,
Noisy Nora's original dress,
Donated by Rosemary Wells,
Plus the traveling pants of the Sisterhood mounted on the wall.
And, as Valerie put it,
When Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
Were visiting the store and "being batty,"
They signed their names on Hicklebee's door,
Soon to be followed by Eric Carle's very hungry caterpillar,
A portrait of Pinhead by Clive Barker,
Marc Brown's Arthur
And J.K. Rowling's drawing of the Sorting Hat decreeing,
"You belong in Hicklebee's"
(Take that Gryffindors and Slytherins).
Here you can take Valerie's tour.
The next 10 years saw Hicklebee's move across the Avenue
And partner Jan Gottlieb's move to Washington State.
Valerie began her 16-year stretch as a reviewer on CBS-TV's Early Show,
Hicklebee's worked with pediatricians to begin the Read to Your Bunny program.
They established a Resource Room for teachers in the bookstore,
And took their "Indie" bookselling cause global:
Valerie and Monica attended the Bologna Book Fair
And Valerie flew to Bulgaria and Latvia to share "Indie" bookselling.
At last year's BEA Day of Education and as an instructor at Bookselling School,
Valerie talked about her philosophy: "Turn Your Nose Around,"
Which then leads to "Turn Your No's Around."
"Try to run your business without ever using the word 'No,'" she suggests.
The fruits of her philosophy matured in Hicklebee's second decade:
When a customer asked, "Do you have a Book-of-the-Month Club?"
The response was, "Let me check on that."
They asked the customer to describe how she'd like the Club to work,
And Hicklebee's now has a Book-of-the-Month Club.
Another customer asked if the bookstore participated in SCRIP,
"Like they do at the grocery store."
(SCRIP is like currency: a Girl Scout troop, school or library
Buys $100 worth of SCRIP in ten $10 store vouchers but pays only $90.)
Hicklebee's now has SCRIP and supports the community.
"Generally you get the best ideas from your customer asking," says Valerie.
The key to Hicklebee's success, she says,
Is the people who work there.
"You have to make sure that the people you work with
Are the ones you want to spend your day with," she advises.
"I give more credence to if I'd want to have lunch with them
Than if they have bookstore experience."
Maybe that's why their roughly 20-person team
Averages about 10 years of experience apiece.
And perhaps that explains some of the innovations of this last decade:
The store established the Hicklebee's Book of the Year Award,
Given to a standout book each fall and spring.
(The first went to Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie in 2000.)
To highlight the backlist gems whose sales deserved a boost,
Carol Doup Muller, a former reviewer for the local paper,
Created the weekly "Worth the Candle" title
(In homage to a time when the cost to purchase a candle meant
Serious deliberation before deciding to light one)
Featured in the store and on their Web site.
Most recently, it was their bookkeeper, who instigated an idea.
She noticed revenue was down and told Valerie,
"Last year you had an event at this time, and we need an event."
So, using Mo Willems' Naked Mole Rat as a springboard, they launched
"Project Runway: From Eek to Chic."
Everyone was invited to "Come in and dress your naked mole rats."
Hicklebee's set up tales with "big naked mole rats probably 18 inches tall,"
Cut out of heavy cardboard, and mounted on wooden sticks.
There were tables set up with "glitter, glamour and bling," fabric and glue.
After the decorating, the tables were cleared away and the fashion show began,
Complete with carpet and bright lights.
Community is the other key to Hicklebee's success,
And it goes both ways.
Just last week (Shelf Awareness, April 9, 2009),
Hicklebee's was proclaimed "champion in the world of reading,"
By State Senator Joe Simitian when he awarded Hicklebee's
The 2009 Small Business of the Year.
The biggest changes over the three decades they've been in business:
The Internet and Amazon's reach.
"This is going to sound strange," said Valerie,
"But Amazon coming on the scene was a marvel to me.
"It wasn't like 'Oh my God' shock. It was like WOW look what they did:
Anybody no matter where they are can buy a book."
But with the chains, there was what Valerie calls "monstergobble factor."
"With the chains, I felt there was foul play,
A gobbling up that was done with purpose," she says.
"There were excellent bookstores that could not survive and were taken from the community."
And when these independent-minded buyers go,
So does their unique taste and perspective,
And their connection to their community's needs and interests, she argues.
"You can add 50 more chains or Big Box stores,
But you're not adding 50 more buyers.
The fewer people buying those books that are edgy,
The fewer of those books [publishers] can afford to publish.
In terms of our freedom to read, and our freedom of speech,
We have fewer choices," says Valerie.
"We want as many of us to survive as we can
Because it's so important to the community."
Congratulations to Hicklebee's,
Celebrating 30 years with the community
On Saturday, April 18!--Jennifer M. Brown