Books to be Red — Local services in Ocracoke

Toddler parents beware! We were super excited to head over here one rainy afternoon since our rental house was filled with books that we guessed were purchased here. We had found them also on Amazon but since we like to invest in the Ocracoke economy we decided to look for the books at this shop we had frequented on other trips. Our three year old is very exuberant and was excited to check out new books. We sat on the floor totally distracted by enjoying books when we were fussed at twice in the span of five minutes by the owner—one time legitimately as my son was sitting on a book which I did end up buying. Not sure if the owner was having a bad day or if we were in a string of toddlers in that day and she had her fill of kids but the experience wasn’t warm and inviting. It might be better to have demo books for toddlers to check out if there is so much concern about them being in the shop and enjoying the offerings. I was never asked what kind of books we were looking for or anything about us and I was only thanked for stopping in after I spent $50. If I’d been scolded a third time I would have headed out the front door. The experience sure took all the fun and delight out of what we had hoped would be an exciting trip to...

Toddler parents warned - NOT for you! I have been coming to the island since I was a baby’s and I was very excited to bring my 2 year old daughter here for the first time. We went to the kids section (where there is a great selection). My daughter found a plastic toy truck which I was going to buy so I let her play with it in the store. I went to take It back from my daughter and the owner came over grabbed the truck from us and said she would take the toy and that she was so upset that it “wasn’t going to be fresh for new children to play with” and scolded us for letting our toddler play with anything in the store. I apologized and I was going to say I’m purchasing but she was so rude to me and even my 2 year old that I decided I wasn’t going to support the store! She honestly put me in tears when we left (we were waiting to check in our house and on a 12 hour travel day as well). I have never seen anyone act that way towards a 2 year old being excited about something. Adults - great books and selection but I don’t think...

I make it a point to visit this bookstore each time I come to Ocracoke, but today was my last visit. When I entered the shop I greeted the women who I assume is the owner and said I was surprised to find the store open. For those unaware, this is the off season and many of the businesses are closed. She retorted snidely, “Well I don’t know why; we have been open at this time for 25 years!” I then said just that they were closed last year this time and I didn’t mean anything by it. She then exclaimed that “her son was dying in the hospital last year” as if this were common knowledge and I’m an interloper for not knowing it. I looked around for a while but I left without buying anything because I did not feel happy after that interaction. She was very rude and ugly for no reason. I want to support a local bookshop even though I can buy the books a LOT cheaper online but I will not give my money (especially in this economy!) to someone who...