New Children’s Bookstore Coming to Brookline Village

A new children's bookstore will open in Brookline Village. 

Bruce and Cathy Jacobs, the couple behind the new store called Turtle Books, are Brookline residents and recent retirees who seek to create a sense of community among Brookline Village children and families. The bookshop will open at the former location of the child care center Golden Chickpea at 44 Washington St. A soft opening is planned for October.

The Jacobses view the opening of the new bookstore as a way to stay busy during retirement, fill a services void in the Brookline Village community, and counteract the amount of screen time children are exposed to today. 

The Jacobses view the opening of the new bookstore as a way to stay busy during retirement, fill a services void in the Brookline Village community, and counteract the amount of screen time children are exposed to today. 

“We've seen a big difference in kids today and kids from 20 years ago,” Bruce said in a statement shared with Brookline.News. “Today, there's so much competition with YouTube and video games.”

Although managing a bookstore will present a new professional challenge for the couple, both will leverage their career experience as an engineer and a social worker in the new venture. In addition to offering books, Bruce and Cathy aim to position Turtle Books as a third space within Brookline Village, a place where families can gather for book clubs, read-alouds, and other activities. 

To carry out their overall vision, the Jacobses have assembled an advisory board comprising community members, including parents, school librarians, teachers, and others.

“I really think the community needs this,” said Terri Schmitz, who formerly owned The Children's Bookshop and who serves as a member of Turtle Books' advisory board. “I was sorry I wasn't able to continue doing it, but I think the time is right for them to try it again.”

Deborah Abner, a librarian at the K-8 Lincoln School in Brookline, serves on the Turtle Books advisory board. She believes a children's bookstore in the community could help support a reading culture among children that has been gradually declining.

“Children in our school are supposed to be reading a half an hour each day, and they're not,” Abner said to Brookline.News. “When you're not reading every day and building stamina, it's hurting you educationally.”