Move Over Wine Tasting! It’s Time to Plan a Bookstore Crawl!

This summer, my family vacationed in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. We hiked, kayaked, and reveled in Mother Nature’s beauty – including the Apostle Island sea caves!

Yet, one of my greatest discoveries on that trip was not in nature – it was in a bookstore. I spotted Back Forty Books as we were driving through Two Harbors, MN, after a long day of hiking, and I convinced my husband to pump the breaks, turn around, and allow me “please just a few minutes, and I’ll keep my purchases to a reasonable level of books I promise!”

In a later post, I’ll share more about Back Forty Books and another soul-filling indie bookstore I visited on our trip. This story is about the magical map the owner handed me as I paid for my totally reasonable stack of books. Pictured below is the breath-catching marvel I carted to the car and immediately analyzed. Look at all of these stores! (Don’t worry, there is a list on the back of the map and you can grab a copy here!)

Every year, the Midwest Independent Bookseller’s Association publishes an independent bookstore map and offers customer incentives. For example, if you post a photo of yourself in front of one of the bookstores and tag MIBA and the bookstore, you are entered into a drawing for a $50 gift card to the bookstore of your choice.

Don’t live in the Midwest? No worries!

Indie Bound’s website shares lists of bookstores you can crawl in every state with a variety of celebrations during the month of April. Independent Bookstore Day is Saturday, April 24, 2027.

So the next time you feel the urge to plan a craft hopping morning or a wine tasting afternoon, consider an all-day bookstore crawl. Your indie bookstore will thank you – and so will your family (because obviously you’ll buy books for them – a reasonable number of books!)

Emily Starr

When Emily Starr was six, she grabbed her small red suitcase and stomped through the kitchen, announcing her plans to run away. The suitcase’s flimsy latch promptly popped open revealing its contents–air. Thankfully, Emily grew-up to be a planner like Claudia. For nearly two decades, she has worked with experts, authors, and educators to develop science curriculum and professional development resources for her company, StarrMatica. As a former elementary teacher, her specialty is helping educators to incorporate scientific thinking and an engineering mindset into daily classroom routines using picture books.

Emily is a reluctant daredevil, joining her husband in sky diving, cliff jumping, white water rafting, and hundreds of scuba diving adventures including diving with sharks. But, Emily’s favorite thing to do is read and write STEM-themed nonfiction picture books (and middle-grade!) Emily lives in Iowa where she enjoys exploring nature with her two boys, and she holds her library’s record for the most books checked out at one time–185!

Emily is a member of the Iowa State Science Leadership Team and a reviewer for NSTA's journal Science and Children. She has received five highly competitive Small Business Innovation Research grants, the Prometheus Award, District Administration's Top Products Award, and the Iowa Entrepreneur of the Year Award. You can learn more about Emily’s work on StarrMatica.com