Caroline's spring show favourites
Spring trade shows are a highlight in the Bookspeed calendar. After carefully selecting our seasonal picks, it’s such a buzz to see our books spark inspiration and get people chatting at the stand. We asked product expert Caroline to share her favourites from the spring shows.
5 Minute Dinosaur Stories
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People were really loving this one at Top Drawer. 5 Minute Dinosaur Stories is part of a series which is super popular, and they’re all beautiful books. It’s a read-aloud collection of nine non-fiction rhyming stories about dinosaurs, and they're short, so great for parents or grandparents reading with their kids before bedtime or whenever they get a moment. There are facts throughout, like which dinosaur does the biggest poo, and anything dinosaur (or poo) related kids just love. You can’t go wrong!
"It's gorgeously illustrated throughout and has an attractive cover, so it looks beautiful on displays, and you can add others from the series. If you stock other things to do with dinosaurs, like cuddly toys, you can cross-merchandise with that, so it looks really pretty. Dinosaur snap is always one of our bestsellers too, so we have games that would link in well."
Enid Blyton books
"People visiting the stand were ordering the Enchanted Library series and the little Faraway Tree lift-the-flap board book editions. The new film is coming out at the end of March, and there's a huge amount of nostalgia for grandparents and parents. These new editions reimagine and introduce their favourite childhood characters and fantasy world from their youth to a new generation. I read Enid Blyton’s books in the late 80s to early 90s, and people had them way before then, so it's something each generation passes down."
Matcha: A Cookbook
"Obviously, everyone loves matcha, and people at Top Drawer were reacting so much to this book, along with Pocket Pickler (which I love!), and all things kimchi. Anything to do with fermenting or matcha was very popular because it’s all over social media. This book is a bit different because it has basic matcha lattes, but it also has lots of new, interesting recipes to try for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Wellness culture is so big right now, and matcha has the nutritional equivalent of 10 cups of normal green tea; it has loads of antioxidants. Not everyone can afford to go out to eat and drink regularly, so this is a good way for people to try new recipes at home — and it’s more fun, isn’t it? It has a beautiful green cover, which you can mix with other natural, earthy books you’ve got, so I think it would work well in a display."
Artisan Ruled Notebooks
"We took tonnes of these in all different colours and displayed them with the spine against the wall, with all the pads stacked on top of each other. There are beautiful designs along the page edges, so if you have them all piled on top of each other facing out, they look absolutely gorgeous! Everyone was saying they wanted to display them the same way, picking the colours to match with what they sell already or their shop’s colour scheme. You can mix and match, and it’s adding a different dimension to what you already offer. They got a lot of attention!"
A Man and His Watch
"People were really interested in the coffee table books this year. They’re higher-end, but I think seeing them in person, people can see what they're getting for their money. This is one of three titles by this author, and the books in that range were some of the most popular, everyone was raving about them! It’s so difficult to find a good present for a guy, and I think for Father's Day or special occasions like birthdays, they're really nice gift items.
"A Man and His Watch is a gorgeous coffee table book; it comes in a big hardback slipcase and has beautiful photography throughout. It’s not just images of watches; each section is a focus on the owner with personal, emotional stories about why they love a particular watch and the connection between them. It’s something you can keep coming back to. I've got a lot of customers who are ready to buy it. These are proven good sellers, but seeing people at the stand picking them up and being so attracted to them just kind of confirmed that these are for everybody."
