The Little Fox Bookshop of Whitby has a dark blue ceiling swirling with handpainted stars. It has bunting in the windows, framed posters of iconic children’s books around the walls and even a dragon in the very uppermost righthand corner. And none of these are the most impressive thing about the bookshop.
The Little Fox Bookshop has fairy-light strung papier mache trees with fairy doors, a giant book as big as a five-year-old, all lit up, the pages already turning as if by magic and toadstools ready for little readers to take a seat. It has a wardrobe, through the coats to Narnia of course!, and gorgeous quotes from C.S. Lewis, Roald Dahl and others painted on the walls. It even has a coffee shop and sells essentials such as cards, wands and some specially chosen, infinitely giftable grown-up books too. And none of these are the most impressive thing either.
You might think that I’m telling you this because I will now brag, on The Little Fox’s behalf, about their truly incredible book selection. Walls and walls of beautifully curated picture books from Jon Klassen (I have to go back for the ‘I want my hat back’ stickers!) to the cleverest contemporary non-fiction, with a particular eco-conscious sea-speciality. I could even recount how I surprised I was to find a gem of a book - Bravepaw by L.M. Wilkinson, all the way from Australia - that I have never seen on the shelves of any other English bookshop.
But, as always in the book world, the most impressive thing about The Little Fox Bookshop are its people, particularly owner and manager, Lucy. It is Lucy’s passionate energy which fuels The Little Fox and it is tangible in everything from the hand-made props to the customer-care. Lucy knows Whitby, she knows children and she knows books. I feel certain that anyone would feel the magic of The Little Fox Bookshop and the warmth of Lucy’s welcome and leave a reader even if they weren’t one when they stepped through the door.
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