Plaid Elephant Books

Hi! I’m Kate – founder and owner of Plaid Elephant Books. I’m so glad you’re here.

My family is full of readers. There is a fabulous picture of me reading with my dad circa 1987. Yes, we’re wearing matching t-shirts and sporting nearly-matching bangs. And see that black and white shot? That’s my grandma with my aunt and uncle circa 1957. Reading runs in the family. Books have always been a huge part of my life.

But that’s not why I decided to open a children’s bookstore.

At least it’s not the only reason. I decided to open a children’s bookstore because I love bookstores and what they bring to a community. Bookstores foster connections. They bring people together through shared wonder and delight.

You don’t just buy books at a really great children’s bookstore. You have adventures. You make friends. You travel to far-off lands. You leave feeling happy and eager and satisfied all at the same time.

That’s what I want for Danville and its families.

To understand the elephant, we need to do one more introduction. That handsome gentleman at the right is my grandfather, pictured there in 2014 (at the age of 94) reading to my son. My grandpa was born and raised in India, the child of missionary parents. We grew up on stories of tigers and monsoons – and elephants, of course! He had a collection of carved elephant figurines and we came to associate that animal with him.

The necessary start-up funds for this bookstore dream of mine came from the inheritance I received from my grandfather when he died in 2019. We miss him. We love him. We remember him.

We – and by that I mean my family collectively – also love plaid. A lot. There’s a famous family photograph of my mother, her three sisters, and my grandmother all wearing matching plaid jumpers…that my mother made. There were also matching vests for grandpa and my uncle.

We take plaid seriously in this family.