When I was a kid I spent a lot of time with my family at bookstores. 20 years ago big fancy Chapter/Indigo mega-bookstore did not exist. We had to shop at smaller shops. There was one exception to this - The World's Biggest Bookstore. This Toronto landmark has been on Edward Street, just off Yonge Street, since 1980. A trip, from our home in Pickering, to the WBB was like going to a new and exciting world. At the time Sam the Record Man was still on Yonge, and do you remember the Pizza Pizza with the blingy signage? What a totally different landscape along Yonge St today...better...I don't know? Anyhow, as a child I fully believed that it was the world's biggest bookstore. Why wouldn't I? Toronto, at the time, was home to the world's tallest free standing structure, the CN Tower. So, biggest bookstore didn't seem that unbelievable.
When I mentioned the WBB to my daughters recently I saw the same glimmer in their eyes that must have been in mine 20 years ago. The thought of visiting a gigantic world of books was awesome. So on Family Day weekend we made the trip. The girls were genuinely excited..and I must say we pumped it up for them...why not!?
Although Yonge St has dramatically changed over the years, somehow this stretch of Edward has been impervious to change. The exterior is the same...the street is still a little smelly, a little dirty and a little dodgy. The sign out front seems to stretch on for miles...further hyping the experience for my girls.
Walking inside was like walking into the past. Seriously...still white, yellow and red predominate the colour scheme. Still the terribly oppressive fluorescent lighting. Still the massive warehouse size bookstore from my childhood.
The children's section had rows and rows of my girls' favourite books. It was a little overwhelming for them to pick just one book.
After we made our purchases and left the store, the girls concluded that it definitely was the world's widest bookstore! Smiles on their faces as we walked our way to Yonge St, off on the next stage of our adventure...a visit to the "world biggest" HMV!
This was a fantastic day for the all of us...what a wonderful illustration of how something ordinary can become quite extraordinary.
