VENTURA : Book Merchant to Visit White House

The owner of a Ventura children’s bookstore, who won a national booksellers’ award earlier this month, will be one of several people presenting award-winning children’s books to First Lady Barbara Bush at a White House ceremony June 24.

“Barbara Bush has been such an advocate for children’s literature,” said Jody Fickes, owner of Adventures for Kids. The books will go in the White House library.

Fickes, whose store stocks 27,000 titles, is founding chairwoman of the Assn. of Booksellers for Children Choice Award. The association’s members, about 350 booksellers nationwide, were polled for their award nominations, Fickes said.

The 41 books selected for the award include “Polar Bear, Polar Bear” by Bill Martin and Eric Carle; “Brother Eagle, Sister Sky” by Chief Seattle, illustrated by Susan Jeffers; and “Liddie” by Katherine Paterson.

“These are books that we were particularly proud to sell this year,” Fickes said. “These are books that made us glad to be children’s booksellers.”

Earlier this month, during the American Booksellers Assn. convention in Anaheim, Fickes and her staff became the first children’s bookstore ever to receive the prestigious Charles S. Haslam Award for Excellence in Bookselling.

The annual award is presented to a bookseller who most exemplifies innovative business practices combined with social responsibility and involvement in the community.