Kate Horton has taken over at Books For Kids in Hamilton East and is looking forward to carrying on the "legacy" of the shop. Photo / Tom Eley
Buying a beloved children’s bookshop sounded like a dream for former teacher Kate Horton.
“You’re thinking, oh my gosh, it’s just going to be so lovely and cute,” she said.
“But then the rubber hits the road, and it’s actually software and inventory and negotiating with suppliers and all of that stuff.”
Still, Horton would not have it any other way.
The new owner of Hamilton East’s long-running Books For Kids store has taken over the Grey St institution, determined to continue a legacy that has introduced generations of Waikato children to reading.
Former owner Megan Lindsay told the Waikato Herald she had been looking to sell the business for some time, but wanted it to go to the right person.
“It was serendipitous.”
The shop has largely remained in educators’ hands over the decades, with Horton continuing that tradition.
“The store has been passed down from teacher to teacher,” Horton said.
For her, that connection to education is part of what makes the store special.
“For decades, Books For Kids has been building libraries in schools and homes across New Zealand.
“I feel the weight of that legacy every single day, and I could not be more honoured to carry it forward.”
Horton officially took over the store on May 3 and said she had plenty of ideas for new additions, though her immediate focus was getting to know the customers.
“I need to see how people interact with the store. Do they find things easily? Do customers come in and already know where everything is, and am I the one who needs to catch up a little bit?”
She said she was also bringing in a manager to oversee the day-to-day running of the store.
The purchase gave Horton and her husband, Rob, the chance to put years of business and leadership experience into practice together.
“My background’s in education, and Rob and I are business partners in life and in business.”
The pair run New Zealand Lean Academy, a consultancy focused on operational excellence and continuous improvement.
“I bring the leadership side, and he’s got the technical nuts-and-bolts operational excellence background.”
The couple spent years searching for the right business to buy, hoping to find what Horton described as a “proof of concept” project where they could apply the systems and practices they teach clients.
“We’ve looked at lots of businesses and run them all past the accountant.
“He’d say, ‘No, not that one, not that one.’ Then this one came up and he said, ‘Oh Kate, I think you might be on to something with this one’.”
Horton spent more than a decade teaching in Waikato classrooms before life “took me in a few unexpected directions”.
Now, she has swapped the classroom for the shelves of the specialist children’s bookstore, which has been part of Hamilton East for more than 50 years.
“I believe with everything I have that the right book in a child’s hands at exactly the right moment can change the course of their life.”
One of the store’s biggest strengths, she said, was its range of books in multiple languages.
“We’re one of the few places where you can get such a comprehensive collection of books in te reo Māori and bilingual editions.”
Horton said she was passionate about expanding that offering wherever possible.
“If I bring in a book and there’s also a version completely in Māori as well, that’s really cool.”
She also hopes to turn the bookstore into more of a community space, with author events already being discussed.
With nearby parks and public spaces close to the shop, Horton said she was considering outdoor events and collaborations with other Hamilton East businesses and organisations.
Her own love of reading began in a Standard 1 classroom, where a teacher read short stories by Paul Jennings to the class each day.
“That’s where I became a lifelong reader.”
She knew she wanted to become a teacher from the age of 6 and landed her first teaching role at just 14, teaching classical guitar at Hamilton Boys’ High School.
She also became part of the foundation team at Endeavour Primary School.
Previous owner Megan Lindsay decided to “turn the page” after eight years running the business and thanked assistants Jane and Christelle for their support.
Horton said she was conscious of the shop’s history and the role it played in the community.
“It’s not just a bookstore.
“It’s a place where families come together, where children discover stories that stay with them forever.”
Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. Before joining the Hamilton-based team, he worked for the Weekend Sun and SunLive. He previously worked as a journalist at Black Press Media in Canada and won a fellowship with the Vancouver Sun.