Pointe-Claire's Babar Books marks 40 years celebrating children's stories

For four decades, generations have walked through the doors of Babar Books in Pointe-Claire Village hunting for their next favourite story.

Founded in 1986 by Maya Byers and Helen Gillespie, the specialty children's bookstore is marking its 40th anniversary this year. The two-floor shop carries about 35,000 titles in English and French, with books for everyone from newborns to teens and a small selection for adults.

Byers and Gillespie dreamed up the idea while watching their children at a local playgroup. "We didn't like working for other people and we loved books," Byers said. "We decided there wasn't a children's bookstore in Montreal and certainly not on the West Island. We decided to start our research and within less than a year we had the store open."

The store was named after one of Byers' favourite childhood books, "The Story of Babar".

Over four decades, Babar has become a gathering place for the community and a destination for major book launches. "We used to have the launch parties for Harry Potter," Byers recalled. "I think our last one, there was 800 people at it. They had to close the street. All of this tied into childhood memory is a great thing. I'm really pleased."

The bookstore continues to host authors and illustrators from Quebec and beyond, with a focus on local creators whose work might otherwise go unnoticed. The business has grown into a family operation: Byers continues to curate the collection, her daughter Megan oversees the business side, and Megan's husband David brings Babar's books to new readers through school book fairs.

"There's so much to choose from," Byers said. "I'm sure we can find a book for even the most reluctant child." When the store opened in the 1980s, inventory tracking was hands-on with no computers. Now, technology has made information and stock management easier to access while the community focus remains unchanged.