Bookworm Bookstore opens at Generations Day Care

Students in Ramona High School’s special education classes were the very first customers to buy books at the new Generations Day Care Bookworm Bookstore on Feb. 20.

The soft opening of the bookstore also gave Generations Day Care participants a chance to practice their cashiering and customer service skills as they assisted customers.

Generations Day Care owner Marcie Laws-Hayes said it wasn’t easy finding business partners who could offer job skills to her day care’s special needs participants. So Laws-Hayes decided to open a bookstore onsite at 850 Main St., Suite 107, to give her patrons work experience with minimum wage pay.

The experience of working at the store, using an electronic cash register, making change with cash, and serving customers could translate to part-time jobs in the community later on, she said.

“Our books are priced affordably because we’re not in it to make money, but to teach skills,” said Laws-Hayes, who expects the income to cover the workers’ paychecks and activities for Generations Day Care participants. “It may be a slower process in our store, but we hope people will appreciate the skills the participants are learning.”

Bookworm Bookstore customer Alejandro Figueroa, left, buys a book from cashier Linda Uribe who is guided by Generations Day Care staff member Kayla Cunningham. Behind them is Jonathon Gow and to the right is Ramona High School teacher Lee Wilkerson.

(Julie Gallant)

The bookstore has something for all types of readers, from children’s books and teen chapter books to adult fiction, home-school and religious books, and books written by famous authors. She said most of the books are used and some are even staged to enhance the store’s retro look.

One of her treasured books, titled “Different, But the Same,” is a story about the experience of having Down syndrome from the perspective of author Kayla Cooper, a former Generations Day Care attendee.

Bradley Farthing shares his enthusiasm for reading as he buys a book from Bookworm Bookstore cashier Alexis Phillips.

(Julie Gallant)

Laws-Hayes expects the store to be open during regular business hours including Saturdays after the Grand Opening celebration on Feb. 29. At least one day care staff member and two adult day care participants will run the store “but if we’re all here everyone jumps up to help,” Laws-Hayes said. “Sometimes there are eight people here and one customer.”

One of the shoppers, Ramona High School senior Chloe Kuhns, said she likes to read animal books, especially those about horses, kittens and dogs. She said her favorites are the Warrior Cats series based on the adventures of feral cats living in clans. Kuhns said she may return to the store to buy a book about dogs since she has her own pet dog named Hope.

“I would come back,” she said. “It’s a really cool store. I like it.”

Ramona High School senior Chloe Kuhns browses for an animal book at the Bookworm Bookstore.

(Julie Gallant)

Ramona High student Bradley Farthing said he would be interested in reading books about robots such as Wall-E, a computer-animated robot in the science fiction film of the same name. WALL-E is short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class.

Other customers included Charlie Dinero, who bought the cookbook, “Simple Suppers,” to help him learn to cook and grill beef.

Generations Day Care participant Linda Uribe was assisting the first wave of customers at the cash register during the soft grand opening.

“I like helping people at the cash register and it might help me to get a job someday,” Uribe said.

Uribe enjoys the “Beauty and the Beast” story and plans to work behind the register again during the Grand Opening, set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb. 29. The event will be complemented with treats from Ramona Country Bakery and Farmstand 67, there will be a Memories that Last photo booth set up, reptiles will be on display, and a local author will be signed up to autograph books.

Charlene McDonnell, left, shops for a book at the Bookworm Bookstore with Roy Singleton.

(Julie Gallant)

In addition to an assortment of books, the Bookworm Bookstore sells “busy boards” with several dexterity activities for toddlers. The boards are made by Generations Day Care participants and sell for $45 each. Also available are calm down bottles, similar to glitter globes, that provide a calming sensation to someone feeling anxious or stressed out. Other accessories include RBar soaps made by students in the high school’s Special Education Department, homemade bookworm bookmarks and traditional bookmarks.

Laws-Hayes said the new bookstore fills a void in Ramona since A Classic Tale bookstore closed permanently last Dec. 24 at its 780 Main St. location.

“With the loss of the other bookstore in town, it really is a service to the community to be able to provide books with a variety of topics instead of going down the hill to buy a book,” said Laws-Hayes, who purchased bookcases from A Classic Tale but gathered most of her inventory from online vendors, garage sales and donors. “Every town needs a bookstore.”