We first visited the Little Bookshop in Great Linford in October 2015. What a gem. All pre-loved kids books are no more than 50p each!!! Bargain. If you haven’t had a chance to visit then it’s a lovely place to take the kids during half term or pre-schoolers during term time. It’s a not-for-profit community bookshop and coffee shop and was set up 3 years ago with a grant from the Milton Keynes Community Foundation. Toddler loves sitting on the children’s sofa reading stories. He likes drawing pictures on the blackboard. He also loves buying a 30p bag of duck food and visiting the pond which is literally opposite the shop.
The bookshop relies solely on donations of, and sales of, Books, DVDs and CDs. They are run mainly on a volunteer basis and have a number of community activities in and around the shop. They do so much!!! They regularly facilitate disability and community groups meeting in the shop. They work with local schools, running reading sessions, and working with older students who are involved in taking care of the local centre, including looking after planters, litter picking and running regular charity cake bake sales. They are an official donation point for Milton Keynes Food Bank, and provide free refreshments for food bank users. They provide a safe and welcoming place for people who may feel excluded from other venues due to problems with isolation, mental health problems, physical disability, access to transport, lack of money or loneliness. They are supporting the “Ping” project outside the shop, by providing bats and balls for the public table tennis table – toddler really wants to play the next time we go!
I was delighted that my first post about this on facebook reached more than 27,000 people. As a result lots more people who hadn’t previously heard of the shop visited. It’s meant that the shop has changed its layout to accommodate more buggies, and they are now offering free fruit to visitors which is great. But they desperately need more kids books! The next time you have a clear out then it’s worth considering donating the books to them.
If you like your chick lit there was lots to choose from – even one of the Fifty Shades sequels was only 50p. Postcode takes you to the local centre – it’s round the corner from the Co-op. Open Mon, Tues, Thurs 10am to 3pm. SHUT WED. Open 10am-4pm Fri. PLEASE do check they’re open before travelling as occasionally they are closed.
ADDRESS – MK14 5HA
TEL – 01908 412591
We visited in October and November 2015. Please check the bookshop’s facebook page for the latest opening times, facilities and prices.
