Celebrate 10 years of Columbia's Yellow Dog Bookshop and its window to the literary world

Aarik Danielsen, Columbia Daily Tribune
·2 min read
Yellow Dog Bookshop always creates inventive window displays, but steps it up even further for its birthday celebrations.
Yellow Dog Bookshop always creates inventive window displays, but steps it up even further for its birthday celebrations.

If asked, no doubt most booksellers would tell you that a favorite read opens a window into someone else's story, lets you look out upon another world.

Columbia indie Yellow Dog Bookshop takes that idea a bit further, crafting unique window displays that beckon book lovers into their cozy Ninth Street spot. Readers can take another look at the store, and the story it's been writing, when Yellow Dog celebrates its tenth anniversary on Saturday, Aug. 5.

The occasion will be marked with "Blind Date Books," puppies from Columbia Second Chance, sweet treats, birthday-themed merchandise and other delights, according to a Facebook event.

Yellow Dog is named for Scout, the yellow lab mix owners Joe Chevalier and Kelsey Hammond adopted in 2007; Scout died in 2018, the store's website notes. Chevalier and Hammond, a married couple, met while working at a Bay Area bookstore more than 20 years ago and eventually brought their literary love to mid-Missouri.

Hammond also serves as Columbia Art League executive director.

Yellow Dog's longevity is owed in part, of course, to its deep and wide selection; and to thoughtful offerings such as book subscription boxes. Those who know the store will also testify to the ways Chevalier's soulful presence sets a tone for the Yellow Dog experience.

"Our shop is turning 10 and that is because of our awesome customers and Joe’s precise vision of what he wants our bookshop to be — a place to find an old favorite, a story that turns a light on inside of you, a book that transports you to another world," a post on the store's Facebook page read earlier this month.

The Yellow Dog Bookshop front window celebrates a past birthday. The store turns 10 in summer 2023.
The Yellow Dog Bookshop front window celebrates a past birthday. The store turns 10 in summer 2023.

To learn more about Yellow Dog's anniversary plans, visit the store online at http://www.yellowdogbookshop.com/ https://www.facebook.com/yellowdogbookshop.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Celebrate 10 years of Columbia's Yellow Dog Bookshop and its window to the literary world