Wildlings Book Shop, a family-owned children's book store, opened inside the Kenwick neighborhood market Wilson's Grocery in August. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
Cradled in Lexington’s Kenwick neighborhood, where Cramer Avenue and Victory Avenue meet, Wilson’s Grocery has been a neighborhood staple for three decades, though the building has anchored the corner since 1928.
Matt and Jill Bastin took ownership of the market in 2023. Matt runs the store, keeping the market stocked with a curated selection of sundries while also keeping the deli’s reputation for simple but hearty lunch sandwiches alive. Along the store shelves are familiar grocery finds, with names like Lays, JIF or Coca-Cola — side-by-side with a selection of local and regional offerings, like Sunrise Bakery bread, Honeyshine Pies, Grippo’s chips and Ale-8-One. A loyal lunch crowd keeps the grocery bustling daily.
Initially, Jill focused on her career in commercial interior design while Matt ran things at Wilson’s. But around the end of last year, she started thinking about how to blend her own passion with the energy Matt was cultivating around the store.
“It was not initially my intention to open a second business inside Wilson’s,” she said. “But about a year ago the idea started to percolate a bit, that it might be fun to do something different.”
She needed an idea that could fit nicely in an unused nook of the store and that also felt at home in the area. Inspired by the energy of the neighborhood and conversations with friends and neighbors, Jill eventually set out to open a children’s bookshop called Wildling’s Bookshop inside Wilson’s Grocery.
“Parents need places they can take their kids,” she says of her choice to lean into children’s literature. “I don’t mean places they can just take them — they need places where their children feel welcome. And from a business standpoint, kids’ books are a segment of the [book] industry that continues to grow, while other segments are kind of up and down.”
Wildlings Book Shop owner Jill Bastin. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
With that in mind, Jill set out to build a space that invites visitors to slow down, step out of their busy lives, and enter a world that’s silly, cozy and rife for discovery. Once she had the place and the idea, the next step was the momentous task of deciding which books to carry.
The store’s space being limited, she knew her inventory needed to be very specialized. After months of research and starting with a list of 3,000 books, Jill eventually whittled it down to a carefully curated selection of approximately 1,600 titles. “I wanted the books to be diverse, inclusive,” Jill says about the daunting task of deciding what to stock on her shelves. “I was trying to make a collection that would be a little curious and a little eclectic.”
It took the better part of a year to bring “the store, inside a store” to life, officially opening to the public in August of this year. In just a few months the response has been enthusiastic, with steady foot traffic and plenty of curious browsers.
Though Wildlings is confined to a small space, Jill’s background in interior design ensures that her shop feels welcoming rather than cramped. Shelves feature everything from board books and picture books to chapter books and comic books. Ageless classics sit comfortably beside modern favorites. There are nonfiction and interactive titles, as well as novels for young adults. And she’s even stocked a few books in the back corner for the adults her young readers bring with them.
“I know things are different than when I grew up,” Jill admitted, “but I can’t be alone in the belief that the feeling of a book in a kid’s hand is infinitely better than a tablet or an e-reader. The experience of a parent and child sitting down with a book, feeling the paper, lost in the illustrations, that will never be replaced. That’s not even to mention how important it is to a child’s development.”
She remembers “The Monster at the End of this Book” and “Where the Wild Things Are,” by Jon Stone and Maurice Sendak, respectively, as being personal favorites growing up. She pointed out books by Phoebe Wall, Oge Mora and Matt Barnett, which all adorn the shelves of her store, as newer works that have resonated with her.
As Wildlings finds its footing, Jill plans to partner with other local like-minded businesses that focus on passions similar to her own, such as reading, making art, music and play. She is building a partnership with ArtPlay Children’s Studios for craft kits, and she recently had a “banned book” event in partnership with Libro.fm, complete with readings and give aways.
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The curated inventory features everything from board books and picture books to chapter books and comic books. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
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The curated inventory features everything from board books and picture books to chapter books and comic books. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
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The curated inventory features everything from board books and picture books to chapter books and comic books. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
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The curated inventory features everything from board books and picture books to chapter books and comic books. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
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The curated inventory features everything from board books and picture books to chapter books and comic books. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
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The curated inventory features everything from board books and picture books to chapter books and comic books. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
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The curated inventory features everything from board books and picture books to chapter books and comic books. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
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The curated inventory features everything from board books and picture books to chapter books and comic books. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
Even in solidarity with other local businesses, it’s still daunting to be the proprietor of an independent retail shop in the age of mega stores, Amazon, and free 2-day shipping. “It did seem like independent bookstores were disappearing there for a while,” Jill recalls, lamenting the closing of local staple Morris Book Shop. “It felt to me like the community, me included, was mourning the loss of those neighborhood bookstores, as though they were a thing of the past.”
She notes that her books cost a few dollars more than corporate competitors, because books carry notoriously low profit margins. Giant retailers like Amazon and Walmart can afford to undercut those low margins for a loss, to increase sales of higher cost items elsewhere. It is a corporate practice that all shoppers have found appealing at some point.
What often goes unseen, Jill noted, is how much more local spending benefits the local community. According to the American Independent Business Alliance, 48% of each dollar spent at an independent business stays in the community, compared to just 14% when spent at a corporate chain.
The last few months have seen nothing but enthusiasm from people stopping in.
“I think our neighbors sense a positive energy when they feel like they’re an active part of the community,” Jill said. "I feel lucky to be among them, and hopefully guide their little ones toward big ideas.”
Jill and her little shop of Wildlings are a gentle reminder to all that there is power in books and community; and that the finest things are found in unexpected places. So, next time you’re in the Kenwick neighborhood, stop in the grocery on the corner. And check out the nook in the back. That’s where you’ll find all the joy and imagination of childhood, waiting to be set free from the shelf.