Interview with Louise Güttner Dyer, The Little Bookshop

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved books. Books of all kinds, and books all the time. The girl – Louise Dyer - was born in Wolverhampton in the Midlands, England. The local football team are called the Wanderers, and this Wulfrunian family began to wander when “Lou” was age three. From her home - just an hour’s drive from Shakespeare’s birthplace - the family spun the globe and settled in the Far East. The vicissitudes of work would later take the family to the Middle East.

By George Brady

Living as a local in far flung places always included being near the sea. When Lou first touched ground in Wassenaar in 1997, the sea air connected with her soul and she finally settled in Wassenaar in 2007. She spent time working in the library of the British School and, at the urging of a colleague, she took steps to achieve formal education first in library science and followed this with a master’s degree in children’s literature specializing in creative writing.

Everywhere Lou lived she found “refuge” in the local library. Books remained a constant in her life – she recounts that as a ten-year-old she pronounced that one day she would run a bookstore. So in September 2018, armed with expertise and passion, Lou took on her life-long dream and opened the Little Bookshop on Kerkstraat in the Wassenaar Centrum, building what would become an institution in the English-speaking community. She filled her shelves with books ranging from the large format picture books we’ve all read to our children in the early years through to books for newly crowned teenagers. When you enter the Little Bookshop, you expect to hear a small bell over the door; instead you’re met by a welcoming smile from Lou, a greeting of “hello honey” and perhaps an excited yip from her furry companion, Humphrey the Bookshop Dog.

Our kids were already aged out of the Bookshop when we arrived in Wassenaar, but as an expat my antennae quickly picked up that this little shop played an outsized role in the community. Almost everyone knew the shop and it became THE place for knowing recommendations for children’s books in English. More importantly, it also served as a sort of refuge for wide-eyed newcomers and a valued resource for other relevant services posted to the message board just inside the shop’s front door.

Perhaps the most memorable feature of the Little Bookshop has been Saturday Story Time. Parents – and their kids – started coming from the beginning to experience an animated hour hosted by Lou’s partner, Hazel. From her big yellow chair in the back of the shop, Hazel brought children’s classics to life for a circle of little ones seated or sprawled in front of her in rapt attention. Hazel is herself not an amateur – she is a head of drama - and draws on her theater skills and experience to deliver an unmissable Saturday morning experience. The shop has also offered drama for mindfulness for 6-12 year olds, as well as a kids’ book club, before being disrupted by the Pandemic.

While I was in the shop last week, two teenaged girls received an especially warm welcome from Lou – one of the girls had been coming to the shop from the beginning and was now another of the many admirers of the shop and the gezelligheid that emanates from Lou and Hazel. Other members of “Team Lou” wandered into the shop, including several “locals” – oma’s shopping for gifts for grandchildren who were starting with English, others looking for books to support their own kids’ efforts to pick up the language. Some came in asking for suggestions for books as gifts for certain age groups, others were there for birthday or Christmas presents – all then neatly gift-wrapped and adorned with a lollipop.

This is a heartwarming story about a woman who has given herself to the expat community and beyond, but like many such stories it’s taken a painful twist. Still feeling the effects of time lost to the Pandemic, and buffeted by the Amazon ogre and rising costs, the Little Bookshop will close its doors at Christmas. Lou will continue to share her expert counsel through an on-line presence (www.the-little-bookshop.nl), offering picture books for the youngest, and otherwise focusing her efforts on niche offerings for “the reluctant reader” and with a healthy offering to honor the overdue attention given to diversity and inclusivity. A selection of the picture books will be available in the neighboring children’s shop Atelier Soof, another of the all-to-rare independently-owned shops in Wassenaar’s center.

I will be heading over to the shop on the 23d for mulled wine and a farewell to the shop, but I will keep Lou in my mind and heart as will her fans and admirers as she embarks on this new adventure. Long live books and long live lovers of books!