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The nation’s oldest children’s bookstore, Once Upon a Time was founded in 1966, and is now owned and operated by the Palacios family. Once Upon a Time has a carefully curated selection of children’s books, and prides itself on being “a community-based neighborhood store that spurs imagination, whimsy, and a passion for reading.”
Chevalier’s Books, an independent neighborhood bookstore, has been in business since 1940. The store hosts book signings and readings, and has a weekend story time for children.
A used bookstore in the heart of Atwater Village, Alias Books East carries a wide selection of used and out-of-print titles with an emphasis on literature, film, and the arts. The shop has a sister store, Alias Books in west Los Angeles, and both buy used books, collections, and libraries.
Arcana Books on the Arts is located in Culver City and specializes in rare and out-of-print books on twentieth century art, architecture, design, and photography. Arcana was established in 1984 and has over 100,000 items in stock.
Unnameable Books is a bookstore located in the heart of Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. Founded as “Adam’s Books” before being renamed, the store specializes in poetry, has an eclectic collection of used books, and carries work from many small independent presses.
Owner Sylvia Levy says her shop is both “the best book store and the worst in the neighborhood” because it’s the only one left. Since 1975, the bookstore has stocked new and used books for Sheepshead Bay locals catering to the over half-dozen nearby yeshivas and carrying another half a million books. A family-run business, the Levys provide a valet service delivering books to drivers on busy Coney Island Avenue.
Freebird Books was established in 2004 by Samantha Citrin and Rachel London, and is now owned by local resident, Peter Miller. The shop is located on the Brooklyn waterfront near the docks and container port. Though the hours are limited to the weekend, Freebird still sponsors community-oriented events such as readings, book clubs, and workshops. It is a temporary home to Books Through Bars, a non-profit which works to provide quality reading material to prisoners nationwide.
The BookMark Shoppe was originally located in Dyker Heights before moving to the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn. Owned and operated by Christine Freglette and Bina Valenzano, who have been friends since junior high school, this independent bookstore specializes in fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books. Next day orders are available at no extra charge.
The powerHouse Arena—a self-proclaimed laboratory for creative thought—is a gallery, boutique, bookstore, performance, and events space located in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood. The space is home to the art book publisher, powerHouse Books, and hosts book launch parties, readings and signings, and conversations for a host of voices in contemporary literature. The store carries a curated selection of design and photography books, along with a discriminating selection of nonfiction, lifestyle, illustrated, and New York-themed books.
Spoonbill & Sugartown, Booksellers was established in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg in 1999. The shop specializes in used, rare, and new books on contemporary art, architecture, and various design fields with an emphasis on imported or hard-to-find selections. Thousands of books are hand-picked for clientele from the eclectic collection of philosophy, literature, cinema, and children’s books.
