The Art of the Shelf-Talker...Part 2: Children's Books

After my last entry on the Art of the Shelf-Talker we got a pretty good response, which is nice, since it means people are actually reading our humble blog. So I thought I would bring the next installment in the Shelf-Talker series: The Art of the Children’s Book Shelf-Talker.

The thing about these Shelf-Talkers is that they have to appeal to the parent, since they're the ones with the money. But they still need to be eye-catching and enticing. The nice thing about children’s books is that they have pictures, so you already have inspiration for the design. The downside is that the books are shorter, so you don’t want to give too much away.

Here are some classic Green Apple examples from our Staff Favorites:

The Incredible Book-Eating Boy:


Sam & the Firefly:

Harold & the Purple Crayon:


The Gift of Nothing:


Fly High Fly Low:

The Peace Book:We hope that not only do you enjoy our Shelf-Talkers, but that you enjoy the books that we love so much.

Art of the Shelf-talker take 3...

In the continuing Art of the Shelf-talker series I wanted to share some shelf-talkers that just sell a lot of copies for books left off the best-seller lists but which have a good home at Green Apple. As we all know some books get overlooked, some do OK, & others, well, they take off. Among the best selling books over the last year there were a few that sold despite being written by someone other than Chabon or Obama or a book not in the Twilight series, in large part due to the shelf-talker.

1. A long time staff favorite: If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland


2. The Tenant by Roland Topor, another staff favorite that we didn't even stock & the inspiration for the Roman Polanski film.

3. This is one of my favorites, Apathy & Other Small Victories by Paul Neilan, now one of our local Richmond District authors. We have sold 491 copies of the paperback alone since it came out 2 years ago.
4. One of our new book buyers allegedly said that he would eat his shoe if we sold more than 7 copies of The Gangsta Rap Coloring Book. After this shelf-talker helped to sell 50 more than that this year, he said it was just a rumor.


5. Weather of the San Francisco Bay Region by Harold Gilliam: This is just a classic case of taking an everyday field guide but wording why you should read the book. "...few regions in the U.S. even require," "...why the weather here is so zany," "(it's also fun)".


What are some of your favorite shelf-talkers? Which one's have helped you find that book you loved. (Two of mine that shelf-talkers in this store helped me findare now two of my favorite books, The History of Love & The End of Vandalism, I will recommend those books for the rest of my life.)

The Art of the Shelf-Talker...

Shelf-Talkers are a very important part of Green Apple. You see them all over the store giving you advice on why you should read those books. Most of them you see on the display tables & the Staff Favorites, but they are strewn all over the store. Those of you who shop our store frequently probably recognize handwriting & initials & know whose taste suits you most. This week I thought I’d highlight a few for you. Part of the beauty is the handwritten & sometimes illustrated work that goes into the shelf-talker, other times it can just be the be the writing that draws you in.

(Click on the pictures to see a larger size)

Bing: Yuk! - Part of the beauty of this one is that the shelf-talker itself is bigger then the book.




Stuff White People Like -


A Fan's Notes -


Bigfoot: I Not Dead -
A Drink With Shane Magowan -