About the Store
Dandelion Bookshop is a cozy, community-oriented bookstore nestled in the heart of Oak Park's historic Hemingway District. We welcome readers, writers, and creative minds of all ages to visit and celebrate fresh ideas and share new adventures.
We believe books are essential to gaining new perspectives and understanding ourselves and others. Books let us dive into new worlds and find our way back to comfort. Whether you're seeking a heartwarming novel, an inspiring biography, or a thought-provoking work of nonfiction, you'll find it here.
Join us for author events, book clubs, and writing workshops. We're dedicated to fostering a vibrant literary community. While here, look for recommendations from your neighbors and offer your own — this is a community-focused space for those eager to share the love of literature. Come visit us and help us write the story!
About the Owners
This little store is owned by Jamie and Kurt, with help from their Junior Manager and Book Tester, Teddy.
Jamie writes for children and is a member of the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She brings more than a decade of experience in publishing and e-commerce to our bookstore. She thoroughly enjoys middle grade fiction, where characters face real problems against a backdrop of hope and personal growth. When she's not lost in a book or working on her next novel, you might find her sipping a hot cup of tea and knitting a cozy scarf. If you discover an amazing new title on the shelves, thank her.
Kurt's background is entrepreneurship and technology. His adventures on the web started in the early '90s with a 4.8k modem and abundant curiosity. Since then, he launched a failed bio-fuel startup, co-founded a succesful health tech startup, and now helps create some of the largest semiconductors in the world. He enjoys low fantasy, grimdark scifi, and economics...with a splash of ancient epics and mythology for good measure. He is also an avid tabletop board and skirmish gamer. If there's a problem with the website, blame him.
Teddy, the youngest bookworm in the family, is a budding reader with a diverse taste in books, ranging from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series to the inner workings of trucks, the physics of flight, and the wonders of robotics. If he's not scrunched on the couch with a book, then he is almost certainly on the floor building Legos inspired by what he's reading and learning. Teddy also plays baseball in the Oak Park Youth Baseball and Softball league with his friends from the neighborhood. Fun fact: Go to Bed, Ted! is dedicated to Teddy!
About Dandelions
Although often dismissed as mere weeds or whimsical sunbrellas for ants and ladybugs, dandelions possess surprising resilience. Over time, dandelions have come to symbolize hope, growth, and a stubborn determination to thrive.
Each flower can produce thousands of seeds per year and each seed can travel miles from the source plant. Because of this, they are considered a pioneer species, uniquely adept at recovering barren land and restoring soil after natural disasters. They're packed with nutrients and every part of the plant is edible.
Dandelions can bloom everywhere, just like hope and joy.
