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| Owner Ryan Billingsley | |
Dad Suggests Books children's bookstore made its debut last month at 2526 E. Mission Blvd., Suite 110, in Fayetteville, Ark. Owner Ryan Billingsley posted on Instagram at the time: "We quietly and secretly opened the doors to our new bookstore today! Thanks to everyone who stopped by to make the day very special. There were a few squeals of joy from kids--and one even said this is my new happy place. So really what more could you ask for?"
Billingsley, a father who has been operating an online site recommending books for kids for seven years, told the Fayetteville Observer, "We have two kids and we've always had a ton of books and games in the home. Before becoming a bookseller, I was a middle school teacher in Lincoln. In 2018 I started a website called DadSuggests.com to write about the books and board games that our family enjoyed."
Billingsley added that he started the project because he was having a hard time finding the books he and his family enjoyed, noting: "After writing about books and games for many years, we opened up a very small store in 2022 to kind of test the waters with a children's bookshop curated with the stuff we enjoy. Many people that discovered our small shop would offer us very encouraging and kind feedback about the type of book selection we were curating--and this year we decided to jump in head first by building an exciting flagship location in East Fayetteville."
In addition to books and games, the new shop also includes a reading room and other little nooks for kids to enjoy books on site, including "a special door" for kids to explore, the Observer wrote.
"From the very beginning I knew that we needed to have a special door," Billingsley said. "Maybe a wardrobe like in the Chronicles of Narnia, maybe a special wall like platform 9 and three quarters, maybe even just a secret bookshelf. I knew a children's bookshop needed a special door to take kids from one place to another--a place that gets their imaginations fired up. And what ended up being a perfect fit for us was a round, green door inspired by The Shire. I consider The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to be some of the very best examples of human imagination, and the perfect amount of geeky for a store called Dad Suggests Books.
"The Shire also perfectly exudes the type of cozy atmosphere we wanted for a quiet reading room--complete with nooks to discover and plenty of books to read with your kids. The reading room is full of books that aren't even for sale, because we want to encourage families to find a comfortable place to sit and read together."