Literary Tourism: Women and Children First in Chicago
Women and Children First is a legendary feminist bookstore that’s been open since 1979, but I have a confession… I hadn’t heard of it until I watched that Portlandia skit where the bookstore is called Women and Women First and someone told me that it was inspired by a real bookstore.
Embarrassing… yeah. But you live and you learn and eventually you go to see the real thing.
[image description: the storefront of the Women and Children First bookstore with its signature purple awning.]
I consider it a real privilege to get to visit legacy brick and mortar bookstores because it seems like sometimes all you hear is that indie bookstores are struggling. So I love getting to go to an indie that’s been around for 43 years and, at least as far as I can tell, is thriving.
[image description: another view of the storefront where words are painted on the windows “Opened in 1979. Open today. Open forever.”]
I especially love the “open today, open forever” motto emblazoned on their window. That’s the kind of indie bookstore energy I love to see.
[image description: a book display for the store’s March Sadness book bracket.]
I love when bookstores do funky displays around holidays or other events, so I was delighted to see the March Sadness book bracket as a riff on the March Madness basketball brackets. That’s just clever.
[image description: part 2 of the March Sadness books display.]
I’ve only read a handful of the books in the March Sadness bracket, but I’d say The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi and Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby were both sad––and excellent. They’re two of my favorite books from the past year.
[image description: the stationery and notebook display table.]
Obviously, I go to the bookstore for books, but I also buy nearly all my pens and notebooks at bookstores too. I go through them like you wouldn’t believe. (I mean, I’m a writer so I’m always scribbling something somewhere.) Indie bookstores tend to have excellent pen and paper options, plus it gives me another way to support the store than just books.
[image description: the children’s section of Women and Children First, complete with a brightly colored rainbow rug and a ton of picture books.]
With a name like Women and Children First, you expect the children’s section to be good… and the store did not disappoint! As tempted as I was to go wild buying books for my niece, I was feeling selfish and bought books for myself instead. Sorry, nieceling! Aunt Mandy has a book addiction that must be quenched.
[image description: the YA and middle grade section of Women and Children First.]
Whenever I visit indie bookstores while traveling, I don’t go in with an agenda or list of books. I like to see what grabs me, what the staff picks are, what the curated tables have, and go with something that jumps out at me.
As tempted as I was by Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero in this section, there were some other things that called to me more. (I’ll come back for you, Yusuf!)
[image description: shelves packed to the brim in the mystery, fantasy, and romance section of the store.]
I’d like to take a moment of appreciation for the little spinny display above. Somehow they managed to pack nearly all my favorite romance authors into a single display. Tessa Dara, Olivia Waite, Sarah MacLean… yes, please!
[image description: the fiction section of Women and Children First.]
There were so many good options for books that I took at least three turns about the store before making my selections. In the end, I picked two books: one Harmony told me made them think of me and one that has crossover appeal with me and Mr. Off the Beaten Shelf.
The one Harmony recommended was White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind by Koa Beck. The one Mr. OTBS and I can share is like something out of Jurassic Park, Rise of the Necofauna: The Science, Ethics, and Risks of De-Extinction.
[image description: a look at the bookstore’s feminist wall of fame, a series of 15 black and white portraits of women authors who have read at the store. The two portraits visible from this view are Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro.]
Befitting a legendary feminist bookstore, Women and Children First has something of a wall of fame. There’s a series of 15 black and white portraits indicating important women authors who have read their work in the store. My guess is that there have been many more than the 15 highlighted, but they only have so many wall space.
[image description: another section of the portrait wall, this part featuring Sandra Cisneros, Amy Tan, Hillary Clinton, and Alice Walker.]
More portraits overlook the greeting card cubby.
[image description: another section of portraits, this side featuring Gloria Steinem, Gwendolyn Brooks, Barbara Kingsolver, and Maya Angelou.]
It’s no surprise to me that Women and Children First has been around for 43 years. I’m looking forward to seeing them thrive for at least another 43 more.
