Story time: Mother and daughter open this a bookstore that gives back to community
Halley Vincent, 14, believes in the power of words: printed and spoken.
When she was 9 years old, Halley began reading books to audiences.
At first, her listeners barked at her.
“But they soon calmed down. Some even went to sleep,” Halley said of her audience of dogs and cats at the local animal shelter where she volunteered.
Halley, a freshman at Shawnee Mission North High School, now reads to two-legged audiences at Seven Stories, a bookstore she owns with her mother, Alisha Vincent.
Recently, Calvin Steil, 6, and Simon Steil, 4, were her listeners at the store’s Wednesday night Read Aloud for young readers.
Calvin and Simon stretched out across pillows on a rug and followed along in picture books as Halley read “Thumper Finds an Egg.”
“It was funny when the bunny tickled his sister,” Calvin said, admitting that he sometimes tickles Simon.
At a December Read Aloud, the boys enjoyed the fictional adventure of Thumper and the nonfictional critters in “Bugs Are Insects.”
“The store has a diverse selection of books for every level,” said Kerry Steil, the boys’ mother.
Steil said she became a fan of the bookstore when it was located next to her business, Suds Refillery, in a building on West 59th Terrace, just south of the bookstore’s current location.
“We went to a meet-the-author event there last year,” Steil said.
The bookstore first opened in a room next to Alisha Vincent’s art studio, where Halley had 97 square feet to display books on shelves and a ledge. The ledge held seven books and was the inspiration for the name of Halley’s bookstore.
Halley and her mother moved from that space in September of 2023 to 450 square feet across from Shawnee City Hall and three blocks from where they live.
The store embraces the printed word. Visitors will find words in books, of course, an eclectic selection of new cookbooks, biographies and fiction for readers of all ages.
A wall is lined with posters featuring the words of Mark Twain, Ayn Rand, Stephen King and Frederick Douglass. Words appear on greeting cards and a sticky-note pad states: “Read Books. Fight Evil.”
“Forty percent of our bookstore is nonbooks,” Alisha Vincent said.
Their goal when they opened the store, she said, was to sell enough to cover operating expenses and add some for philanthropy.
Much of the merchandise is dog- or cat-themed, and bookstore sales help fund Paws Up KC, a nonprofit bookmobile Halley founded when she was 12. Donations to the nonprofit are divided among three area animal shelters.
Her first bookmobile was a repurposed lawn mower with a cart. She now has a mini-truck.
“The mini-truck operates under golf cart rules,” Halley said. “I can go no faster than 30 miles an hour.”
Halley takes the bookmobile to the farmers market in Shawnee every Saturday morning when the market opens in May. She also drives a route in the neighborhood.
Halley became involved in animal adoptions as a volunteer at a local animal shelter. She was too young for most responsibilities, so she rounded up other young volunteers and started the “Rescue Reading” group.
One of the listeners ended up going home with Halley.
“I read for three weeks in a row and no one came to see him,” Halley said of the older black Labrador mix now known as Lucky.
The bookmobile got a boost during the pandemic, when people started leaving boxes of books by the Vincents’ little free library stand in their front yard.
“Suddenly, I had a garage full of books,” said Alisha Vincent.
During the off-season for the farmers market, Halley minds the store after class and on weekends. She collects and sorts books, applies for grants — and continues to entertain and educate listeners with words read aloud.
Seven Stories, at 11109 Johnson Drive in Shawnee, is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Donations for the bookmobile are accepted at the store.
