Bear Pond Books Store — Local services in Stowe

We came from out of town and wanted to browse the shops. We came to this book store and my Ten-Year-Old son was excited to get a couple of books (He loves to read)! Upon being greeted by the woman behind the counter, she more or less kicked us out for not wearing masks and said she was closing in a minute anyway. She proceeded to tell me that you're STILL not onto summer hours yet. I proceeded to let her know that I'm not from there so I wouldn't have known that. So she wasn't willing to ring us out real quick? You lost out on what would have been a good-sized sale. Furthermore, I saw you offered masks FOR SALE. Really? A global pandemic occurs and you're using it to gain a profit!? If you so sternly require masks in your store, so much that you'll refuse business over it, you should be giving them away for free, like City Market Co-ops in Burlington do! Because the whole state of VT is now operating on "masks recommended but not required." Also, healthy people don't need masks... especially when the woman at the counter is wearing one, combined with a plexiglass shield between her and I. WHAT IS GOING TO GET THROUGH THOSE TWO BARRIERS that you have to turn away business just because we chose to exercise our free right to choose not to wear a mask, because we enjoy breathing and we are in fact healthy.

She was very, very rude. I will not be returning. I am highly supportive of local business instead of corporations, but this time I think we're better off going with Amazon.

I gave an extra star for the...

Good selection of books although the guy manning the register could not be “more” excited to be there. He did not utter a single word when checking me out, did not look up and say hi, did not say thank you at the end of the interaction. Seriously, he acted as if he could not be bothered. Meanwhile, he wasn’t do anything when I approached the counter besides sitting at his chair. I instantly regretted even spending over $100 of merchandise there. In addition, he did not bother even giving me a bag for the bundle of books I’ve purchased. I had to ask. Wow. Not even a hi and thank you. Rude much? Meanwhile, the employees connected to this store were friendly. What happened with this guy? Hire another person more suitable for the job, he’s a...

This place is the best bookstore in the area. The staff are incredibly nice, very helpful, and always smile when I walk in. They have a decent collection of Vermont books along with some very nice cards, both handmade and not. Their kids section is amazing and they have a large selection of recent novels. The science section is small, but they have the important books. My favorite part of the store is bookshelf right in the middle near the register that is "staff picks". I always find something...