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Down on the Plaza, next door to Eden Vale’s wine tasting room, is a cozy, magical bookstore all for youngsters. The Tree House Children’s Bookstore has been in business for 33 years. The fourth owner of the store, LadyJane, bought the bookstore in April of 2010. I had the pleasure of talking to her daughter, Brenna, who described the family-owned atmosphere in the bookstore as fun, lighthearted and appealing for all age groups and families.

The Tree House is one of two bookstores in the state of Oregon designed and specific to literature for children; the other store located on the other end of the state in Portland. She shared the history of the bookstore, explaining that the shop was a bank before a bookstore. The room in the far back of the store, once examined, clearly resembles a vault.

Brenna shared with me why working in the family owned and operated bookstore is such a blast. She loves kids, which surely the bookstore gets a lot of. Its a creative shop and there is always something new and exciting. She also said it brings her back to a simpler time; back home.

The Tree House specializes in children’s literature (obviously) but it offers so much more. There are books for young children, high school level and even a small section reserved for adult best sellers. The shop also offers whimsical objects, art work, cards, little knick knacks and even puppets. I found myself lost in colors. Everything I looked at was covered in bright colors or sparkle, taking me back to my carefree childhood instantly.

Unlike the future of paper back, adult fiction and hard backs, children’s literature will always have a market with traditional, glossy hard back books. Brenna voiced a common theme from many of the other bookstores around town: people like having a physical book in front of them and within their hands. She continued, along a different path than the other bookstores, by stating that children books are “creation in front of you- special.” Will we ever get to the point where we will see four years olds cozied up reading Winnie the Pooh on the Kindle?

If you are a local of Ashland or have the chance, while traveling through, to visit this little bookstore, do not miss your time to experience the magic. Just because the sign reads “Children’s bookstore” should not hinder adults of all ages to enter into a land of literary magic. The atmosphere, friendly faces and colorful splendor of the Tree House will take you back to your childhood, where you can sit down and enjoy a big, glossy picture book.

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A lot of the book stores seem to concentrate in downtown Ashland. Let’s take a quick break from the chaos of theater, tourists and extravagant dining and visit a bookstore on the opposite side of town. Around the corner from the Ashland Street Cinema, in the plaza with the Wendy’s and the Dollar Tree is the Bookwagon. It is a smaller space tucked in next to the laundromat, filled with a vast array of used books.

The Bookwagon has been around for ten years, originally starting in a garage. It went through a few upgrades and then downsizes. I met with Carl, the owner, one afternoon in early September. I had never been in the Bookwagon before, which now seems so silly since it seemed like a promising bookstore. A few years back, half way through my college career, once I had moved out of my house with a washer and dryer, I discovered the Bookwagon’s location as I waited for my laundry to finish. The late night times I chose to wash my clothes never matched the day time hours of the shop, so I never went in.

The Bookwagon carries used fiction, mysteries and romance paperbacks. They also carry best sellers, new books and can special order books. Carl enjoys the book business because of constant surprises in various genres, books and authors that seem to pop up time and time again. Carl’s genre of choice when he finds time to read are creative non fiction books and mysteries.

I valued Carl’s perspective on the future of physical books. He believes there is always a market for books, even with the advance of literary technology. Certain people, myself included, don’t want an electronic version and want physical books. I would miss the smell of pages and paper books too much. Carl also explains the value in used books. People can always trade or re-sell used books; you can’t re-sell a Kindle or the books purchased online for the Kindle.

Don’t make the mistake that I did and wait five years to visit this quiet, cute bookstore. It is not overrun by tourists and noisy people. You can take the time to scout out what book you really want without being rushed by a sales clerks or obnoxious shoppers. While waiting for your laundry or a movie, visit the Bookwagon and enjoy the literary experience you can’t find anywhere else.