STORY: Encouraging children to read books

 

So even book-stores have to reinvent themselves. Looking like an old curiosity shop is a thing of the past. Book-stores have to be a fun place, a place for entertainment.

STORY, a standalone book-store on Elgin Road in Kolkata has one whole floor dedicated to children, where they not only have a large book section but also educational aids to toys to accessories for all, from toddlers to tweens.

To encourage children to choose their own books or browse for their favourite authors, the books are arranged in an open-rack system with appropriate labels.

STORY has realised that the key to draw children to books is to keep a tab of what children want to read today. So Enid Blyton and her team of Five Find Outers and Secret Sevens share space with Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or with Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan.

“Today children’s decision to read books is not only guided by what their peers are reading but movies too,” explained one of the staff while talking about the popular American author John Green and his book The Fault in Our Stars.

“If I had not been to STORY, I would not have known that Mickey Mouse now has competition from Geronimo Stilton and his sister Thea, two adorable mice created by Italian author Elisabetta Dami,” said an eager parent shopping for books to gift her daughter on her birthday. The book was also turned into a popular television serial in 2009.

Among the Indian authors, Ruskin Bond is an all-time favourite and so are Sudha Murthy and Satyajit Ray (in translation).

Reading habits cannot be built in a day believes STORY.

To build a lasting habit, it is better to ease the children into reading believes the book-store. So STORY has taken a leaf out of the library system and introduced a unique concept, the Café STORY, a reading zone, where children can pick up books, browse and read; if the child is looking for some entertainment, there are games and painting stationery provided by the book-store.

Even adults can use the reading zone.

Another unique feature of the book-store is the weekly story-book reading held every Sunday for children where a teacher from Kolkata’s reputed school holds an interactive session.

STORY also believes that it is important to spread the reading habit among the less fortunate. It raises funds and donates books, gifts and toys to various charity organisations. ‘Share a Story’ initiative collected 10,000 books and handed it over to Future Hope and Mukti Rehabilitation Centre. STORY contributes books for the annual Carnival and Jumble Sale at (the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy.

There are a total of four STORY outlets in West Bengal. They are in Elgin Road; Diamond Plaza Mall, Nager Bazar; Avani River Side Mall, Howrah and Junction Mall, Durgapur. The flagship book-store of STORY, was launched in Apr, 2014, in Kolkata. 

 

It claims to be eastern India’s largest standalone book-store covering an area of 15,000 sq feet. STORY also helps students of Future Hope, an NGO in Kolkata that provides home and school for street children, by training them at various stores during summer internships. 

 

Eventually a pilgrimage for all book-lovers STORY has a massive collection of books of all genres and a dedicated floor for children.  Through innovative technology and outstanding customer service, it provides more than 50000 titles. 

 

The best basket of collectible pens and writing accessories is available in the Pen & Ink section. The art street section offers art material and accessories, gift it! section has bountiful of special gift items, greetings section boasts of a wide range of all reasons greeting cards whereas the paper shop and stationery section has a comprehensive range of house paper and stationery materials of different kinds.


Image: A children's story-book reading session in progress at the book-store.