A Whale of a Bookstore!

This Southern California gem is located in Irvine California and is an enthusiastic and dedicated member of the community. Owned and managed by Alex Uhl for the last twenty years, they have won the prestigious Lucille Pannell Award “in recognition of its excellence in stimulating, promoting and encouraging young people's interest in books. Whale of a Tale embodies the unique creativity and effectiveness in bringing children and books together.”

Past author visits read like a Who’s Who of luminary children’s authors, including J. K. Rowling, Julie Andrews, Maurice Sendak, Lemony Snicket, Henry Winkler, Sharon Creech, and Brian Jacques.












And as if all that wasn’t enough, they give back in a major way to their community (can we say Karmic Marketing?) and donated over $40,000 last year to local charities and organizations.

They cater to readers of all ages and invite you to browse at your leisure (and what is more fun than spending hours browsing in a great bookstore?) or their dedicated staff will happily assist you in your selection.

I was lucky enough to get a chance to meet Alex at a booksellers luncheon, and she was indeed a huge wealth of information and her knowledge about the book world was encyclopedic. She was also warm and generous and funny. What’s not to love?

Next time you’re in the area, check them out!

A Whale of a Tale Bookshoppe
4199 Campus Drive, Suite A
Irvine, CA 92612

or find them on the web at:
http://www.awhaleofatale.com/

Also, there will be no indie bookseller featured tomorrow because the Violets are off to BEA! We'll try to report back to you and let you in on all the exciting goings on at the Los Angeles Convention Center. If any of you are planning on attending, Robin will be signing Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos at the ABA Author Autographing on Saturday at 2:00 then shortly after that she'll be signing ARCs of Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris in the Autographing Area in the West Hall at 3:00. Do stop by and say hi!

Until then...

Mary and Robin