Grinning Cat Books

Could not be happier with the service provided! Very prompt and super professional! Very friendly book seller! Would love to buy from again in the future! Thank you!

Don’t often leave reviews but wanted to share my experience here. I love science fiction and was looking for a cool edition of Dune. While searching through rare booksellers I came across Grinning Cat Books and was pleasantly surprised. The site is beautiful, modern, and easy to navigate. The mobile app is terrific too. Far nicer than other sites. I enjoyed going through their collection. They offer tons of photos, have a cool loyalty program, and their FAQ tips are great. Reviews are 5-star and I can see why.

One thing I appreciated was the options they offer. For Dune, they have an amazing Book Club Edition, but at $1,850 it was more than I wanted to spend. But they also offered a deluxe illustrated edition. Most rare sites I saw offered only one copy of the book. I used their live chat and the owner Paul hopped on quickly. Nice guy. Knows his stuff. Was very helpful. He told me about another copy of Dune they had in inventory but not yet for sale. He sent me a bunch of photos and priced it fairly. It’s clear they value customers and aren’t just trying to make a quick buck. The copy I ended up buying arrived quickly. Shipping was free. The book was very nicely packaged and in mint condition. Paul wrote me a personal note and surprised me by including an awesome mahogany display stand for free! Class act. Thanks again, Paul! I’ll be back for sure.

Terrific bookseller. Acquired a beautiful out-of-print collection of the Lord of the Rings. Can read it now without straining my eyes so much from the small print in those old paperbacks! Thanks to Grinning Cat for finding this set, (and my wife for buying it for me). They arrived in pristine condition and perfectly wrapped and with a very nice personal note from the owner, Paul. Top-notch service. I look forward to more purchases in the future!

Good service and prompt shipping. Thanks!

My wife's favorite book is 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' by Roald Dahl. She has been wanting an original copy for many years. I had found a few shops that had copies but they wanted too much money for the shape they were in. I happened to see an ad for Grinning Cat on Facebook one day and decided to check it out. I did a search on the site and found a copy at a good price. I snatched it up. It arrived much quicker than I expected, and on inspection, it was in excellent condition.

I gave it to my wife for Christmas, still wrapped in the original paper it was sent in. I just wrote a little note on the front. She opened it with the back cover showing, a small gasp when she saw the illustration on it; she recognized it right away. She ran her hand over it, then slowly turned the book over with a look of anticipation on her face. She was speechless momentarily, then whispered, teary-eyed, that it was just like the copy she repeatedly checked out of the library in elementary school.

Thank you, Grinning Cat, for helping me provide this beautiful gift for my wife. She is a recently retired 4th grade teacher that adores children's literature and hopes to publish her own in the near future. This book is her holy grail. Maybe one day someone will search for one of her books at your shop.

KW

I had a great experience with Grinning Cat Books! I needed a set of Jane Austen novels for my newborn granddaughter that I will give to her when she is 12 years old and Grinning Cat’s offering was perfect! My purchase was shipped very promptly and arrived nicely wrapped to protect the books. Paul even included a handwritten thank you note!! The books themselves were in pristine condition and looked even better than the photos in the listing. Thanks so much Paul!

I just had an amazing shopping experience with Grinning Cat Books. I was looking for a special gift for my wife and the knowledgeable and friendly team at Grinning Cat books totally delivered. My wife is a florist and they helped me find a vintage botany book that was beautifully illustrated. My wife loved it!! Total home run and five star experience! Couldn't recommend Grinning Cat Books higher.

What a wonderful experience to browse the Grinning Cat catalog and buy this excellent little gem for our 12-yr old, who loves actual books, history, engineering, and the scent of the older page! Finding something good took time because we wanted it to: would have been too easy to pick with so many great books, but we found this to be a research and shopping experience worth savoring. Also chatted some with the owner, Paul, who is good people and was incredibly helpful. Very nicely designed site and fun shopping journey. Great educational FAQs too! Shipping was fast with top notch packing.

And in a warm touch, Paul wrote a personal letter to our son about the book, the history covered, and congratulated him for being the youngest collector so far! Included a mahogany display stand as a special gift for him too. The look on our kid’s face when his first collector book arrived . . . priceless. And, he was truly moved by the letter. Thank you GCB. We will visit and purchase again!

What a great way to support small business and rare books! Their collection is truly wonderful and I enjoyed browsing. The site is easy to navigate and they had a perfect signed copy of Bramanti’s wood cuts of the Life of Christ. Beautifully preserved and gorgeous binding and sleeve. Paul and Alison are lovely people doing a tremendous service curating these amazing treasures! Also, the care taken in shipping such a rare find was also very appreciated.

I am certainly going to return for more presents!

My husband and I have been looking for a rare book on Winnie the Pooh for our daughter and didn’t know where to look. My friend told my about an amazing online rare book store, GrinningCatBooks.com. I decided to take a look and initially didn't find what I was looking for. I decided to try the chat box to ask for help. The owner, Paul, immediately called me and found the perfect book for our daughter. He even emailed me lots of photos to help us decide. Our daughter absolutely loves it. My husband and I are so pleased with Paul and Grinning Cat Books!

Was looking for a special gift for my teenage son who is a high school baseball player and huge fan of the sport. Found a wonderful book signed by one of the all-time greats, the Yankee Clipper himself! It arrived on time and was very nicely wrapped. My son loves it and displays it proudly in his room. His friends think it's awesome. It's also neat to know that it will become more valuable with time. Thank you Grinning Cat Books!

I am obsessed with books, especially Early Childhood books. I recently decided to start collecting rare books from my favorite authors such as Maurice Sendak and Eric Carle, to name a couple. The problem was I had no knowledge of how to begin this collection. I did what any normal person would do and searched the web. My mind was reeling from information overload! That is until one website caught my eye . . . Grinning Cat Books! As I am also a lover of cats and Alice in Wonderland, I decided to give it a perusal.

The site is beautiful and well organized and had everything I was looking for! They have an absolutely wonderful Children’s Literature collection. I decided to activate the chat section and was chatting with the owner, Paul Levine. He was extremely knowledgeable about rare books (and even gave me advice on starting my collection!). I spoke with him by phone after that. He had a great many resources to offer and was very patient with me and my hundreds of questions!

I decided on an early illustrated book by Maurice Sendak. The book came promptly and was carefully and beautifully wrapped!! I have read it twice already and now proudly display it in our home.

I cannot thank Paul and Grinning Cats Books enough for the knowledge, patience and kindness extended to me as a first-time rare book collector. It was such a pleasant and fun experience.

I have already recommended the site to friends, and I will be getting all my rare books from Grinning Cat Rare Books from this day forward. Who knows, I may even venture into other genres!

Mrs. Amy Silverstein
Early Childhood Educator for 33 years
Book lover forever :)