Swimming, Sailing, and Reading: A Cape Cod Bookstore

Since Memorial Day 2005, Where The Sidewalk Ends bookstore in Chatham, Massachusetts, has become a choice destination for Cape Cod visitors and residents. Like its namesake -- the legendary book of poetry by the late Shel Silverstein -- the store has tremendous appeal to children, as well as plenty of content of interest to adults.

Theme party: Bats at the Beach. Above: the "Batmobile" in front of the store. Below: author Brian Lies reads to the crowd.

The 1,200-square-foot store, located in a two-story timber frame building in the historic district of the seaside town, was co-founded by Joanne and Caitlin Doggart, a mother and daughter team. Daughter Caitlin often accomplishes her work at the store accompanied by her five-month-old. Joanne, who began her stint as a bookseller concurrent with a cancer diagnosis, has been given a clean bill of health and works the long summer hours in the busy store.

"My mother received her diagnosis [of breast cancer] the same day we closed on the store," Caitlin told BTW. "That first summer was crazy. Then she was in treatment and we were very busy. Work was a good distraction."

The two have gravitated to different aspects of the business, although both work equally in the store. Joanne handles the staffing, the payroll, and working with the accountant. Caitlin does most of the ordering, the website, and the events. Joanne, a former early childhood educator, "is great with the kids," according to her daughter.

Every Wednesday morning during the summer season the store hosts a Theme Party Story Hour, with or without an author. Either way the events have been extremely successful and creative. A Sharks event included a state shark expert who brought examples of shark teeth; Bats at the Beach (Houghton Mifflin) featured author Brian Lies; and author Rose Lewis (Every Year on Your Birthday, Little, Brown) helped to create a birthday party for everyone.

According to Caitlin, a very special first time event was the Full Moon Ghost Story Night, held outside in the yard on July's full moon. Another will be held during the next full moon. Even in the summer, the store's hours, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. everyday, insure a dark and spooky time.

There is a fireplace inside the bookstore, around which some of the store's several book clubs meet. A small serving area for cups of complimentary Equal Exchange coffee is a popular first stop in the store. Offered for sale are a selection of prepackaged baked goods and small cups of Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

News about upcoming events travels quickly around the small community, but Caitlin finds that event attendees frequently cite the BookSense.com site as their source of information. "It's been getting more and more attention," Caitlin said, "We print [the web address] on everything."

She noted that many summer visitors call Where the Sidewalk Ends their favorite bookstore anywhere. While informing them of the BookSense.com site, she tells them, "Now you can buy from us in the winter, too." --Nomi Schwartz