Read with Team Allport, One Dog-Eared Page at a Time (no wait –we have bookmarks!)
At Allport Editions, we’re big believers in the power of the written word, whether it’s stamped on a greeting card, scribbled in a notebook, or pressed between the pages of a well-loved book. We asked the readers on our team to share their favorite books (they were all sad to find out they could only pick 3). True to form, our answers ranged from the poetic to the absurd, the classic to the cozy. Basically, if our office were a library, it would have its own wing for emotional devastation and another just for misfit geniuses.
Based on their bookshelves, here’s a lovingly unscientific analysis of some of my brilliant co-workers. Get to know them the best way I know how: through the stories they return to, recommend, and pretend they don’t quietly build their personalities around.
At Allport: Jared is our go-to tech tamer, logistics ninja, and quiet MVP of getting stuff where it needs to go. Can train new hires, fix the printer, and manage accounts receivable, and is possibly made of spreadsheets. His son Riker is basically our unofficial junior intern: part mascot, part morale booster, and all charm.
Bookshelf Analysis: A toddler whisperer (a father) and a tiny picture book philosopher, respectively. A dynamic duo of cozy chaos and snack-time wisdom. These shelves are rhythmic, colorful, and surprisingly profound…equal parts sound effects and life lessons. There’s a deep respect for joy here, for kindness, for the art of saying goodnight like it really matters.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. – A full-blown alphabet mosh pit in a coconut tree, where letters tumble, rhyme, and rhythm their way into toddler legend. It’s bright, it’s chaotic, and it’s an absolute banger—especially when read with full dramatic flair (which we highly recommend).
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown – A quiet little universe disguised as a bedtime book. Somehow, saying goodnight to the moon, the comb, and the bowl of mush becomes a sacred ritual. It’s hypnotic, lyrical, and gentle in a way that makes the world feel just a little more peaceful—if only for those last few pages before sleep.
The Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle – Part farmyard adventure, part moral fable, this one teaches us that small and kind beat big and selfish every time. There are beeps, oinks, stuck-up dump trucks, and a surprisingly emotional payoff for a story about mud puddles. Like most great children’s books, it’s not just for children.
What I’ve realized while putting this together is that our reading lives are just as different and beautiful as the cards we sell. We love books that ask hard questions, make us laugh unexpectedly, or just remind us that connection is what we’re all here for, whether through words, worlds, or wildly specific lore.
So grab something from your shelf… or better yet, someone else’s (support your local library & independent bookstores), and sink into a story. Revisit a favorite, get haunted by footnotes, cry about marshes, spiral over moral philosophy, or finally figure out what’s actually happening in Flatland (if you do, please report back). Read along with the bookish weirdos at Allport Editions, including myself, who is currently finishing Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine (What if the library of Alexandria never fell and ruled the world?) and using this post as an excuse to sneak in one last book recommendation. You’re welcome.
Stay tuned, you’ll get to know more of the fabulous Team that makes up Allport Editions! I might be biased, but I think they’re pretty awesome.
Until next time,
Sam