A child’s garden of books

Paul Clinton

Christy Coyne expects her children’s bookstore, the First Page, to

offer a window to the world.

It’s a place where parents can find Maya Angelou’s “Kofi and His

Magic,” the story of a young Ashanti boy’s life in his West African

village. You’ll also see the hard-to-find “Ciendrillon,” a Caribbean

Cinderella tale.

Virginia Walton Pilegard’s “The Warlord’s Beads” tells the story

of the discovery of the abacus in ancient China. It’s effusive

illustrations radiate in deep blues, earthy greens and crimson reds.

“I want it to be like a community center to enrich our kids,”

Coyne said. “Everybody has their own way [of doing that]. Mine is

through books.”

All the books at First Page sit on their shelves with their covers

facing outward, offering a rainbow of illustrations that grab the

eye.

The Costa Mesa shop, which is at 270 E. 17th St., will offer 2,500

titles at any one time for readers age 18 and under. Coyne will

rotate her inventory so she stays up to date.

Unlike other children’s bookstores, Coyne said, the First Page

focuses on quality. Award-winning books, off-the-beaten-path titles

and popular series such as “Harry Potter” will fill her large shop.

Reading, Coyne says, is the ultimate family activity.

“Children who are read to early do better in school,” Coyne said.

“It really fosters family unity if you sit down and read book with

your children.”

Coyne hosted a grand opening at First Page on April 26, a

Saturday. Her shop replaced SanBar Pets, which moved to another

location in the 17th Street Promenade shopping center.

Coyne, 35, is a local girl. She graduated from Corona del Mar High

School and eventually moved to Contra Costa County to take a job in

the district attorney’s office. After meeting her husband, Coyne

moved back to Southern California to practice special education law.

She has two children of her own, a 2- and 4-year-old.

She got the idea for First Page when she took her children to

another children’s bookstore.

“I was going to the bookstores to find them books,” Coyne said. “I

couldn’t find a place that had good books and was child-friendly.”

First Page is laid out with a combination of playhouse and

classroom motifs. Three blackboards hang from an area above the

register. A line of words painted on the floor snakes from front to

back.

Colorful building-block seats are clustered around tables in the

back for the story time sessions that are held at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Stories are also read at 10:30 a.m.

Saturday.

“I designed it perfectly for a 2-year-old,” Coyne said, referring

to her children. “My little market testers came and tested it out.”