The couple behind Brookside’s former Reading Reptile bookstore are turning their entrepreneurial energies to a new brand new project—one that’s attracting support from big names in children’s literature and publishing.
Deb Pettid and Pete Cowdin are creating a nonprofit center for the children’s book in Kansas City. It will include interactive exhibits based on storybooks, visits with authors, a printing press and bindery, a bookstore and other attractions. The Rabbit Hole would function as an “explorastorium” where kids could fully engage with stories.
The Rabbit Hole currently has an Indiegogo campaign running through mid-June. Cowdin and Pettid aim to raise $150,000 to fund some of the project’s early operating costs. So far, more than $75,000 has been pledged.
To show people what the Rabbit Hole would look like, Pettid and Cowdin have put together a traveling exhibit featuring the popular character Captain Underpants. The 16-foot triptych—it looks like a pop-up storybook come to life—has been touring local schools and libraries.
A larger temporary exhibit was installed this spring in a building in the Crossroads. It was based on “The Painting of Felix Clousseau” by Jon Agee. The story is about a painter whose artwork actually comes to life—which was fitting because school groups and other visitors to the Rabbit Hole exhibit could walk through giant scenes from Agee’s book.
“We call it an immersive storybook experience,” Cowdin told one tour group. “You’re going to walk into a book today.”
The Rabbit Hole is able to use Captain Underpants and Felix Clousseau because Cowdin and Pettid have built a huge professional network through the Reading Reptile. The store regularly hosted author events and earned a trusted relationship in its industry.
That’s why Agee and Dav Pilkey, the creator of Captain Underpants, gave permission for their intellectual property to be used. Several major publishers—names like Random House Children’s Books, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and others—have endorsed the project, too.
Pettid and Cowdin closed the Reading Reptile this spring. The book-selling business had become more difficult after the 2008 economic crash. The store did a great job curating children’s literature and helped shoppers find the best work out there. But the overall industry had grown to be much more market-driven, with more attention given to celebrity-written books and the latest, greatest titles.
They’ve had the idea to create something like the Rabbit Hole for about 20 years, Cowdin said. Though the Reading Reptile is gone, the Rabbit Hole will still be able to build up a new generation of kids who love to read.
“In the end,” Cowdin said, “we’re a cultural institution.”
