Good service and prompt shipping. Thanks!
Thank you for shopping with us. We're always excited to serve our institutional customers. It was great working with you. Best of luck on the amazing exhibit and program you're curating! Please don't hesitate to let me know if we can be of any further service.
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
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Kelly. Your wife sounds like an amazing woman and we're happy we were able to help you find the perfect gift. We come from a family of teachers ourselves and can appreciate what she gave in service to others during her first career. And, we'll proudly carry her children's books when she's published, so count us in for some signed copies! Best of luck to her.
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!
How wonderful to hear. Thank you very much for sharing your story--it struck a heartfelt chord with us. Congratulations on the birth of your granddaughter! What an amazingly thoughtful and timeless gift for her. We're truly honored to play a role in her future coming-of-age present, and please let us know how it is received 12 years form now! :-) Please don't hesitate to let us know if we can serve you again between now and then. Our best wishes for you and your family. -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.
Many thanks for the glowing review, Hans, and for letting us know how things turned out! Very happy that your wife loved her book and prints so much. Home runs for our customers and gift receivers are what we aim for. Thanks again for letting us serve you and look forward to seeing you again in the new year. All the best!
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!
Hi Aris -- we are SO very thrilled to hear this. It was wonderful working with you. Your son is truly a bibliophile in the making and as you know we champion curious learners of all ages whenever we can. Thank you for letting us a be a part of his journey. We appreciate your business and trust and look forward to seeing you again in the new year!
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!
Thank you for the kind words, Bill. We're thrilled that you enjoyed our site and found the perfect gift! Bramanti's engravings are truly beautiful indeed. Please visit us again soon and don't hesitate to let us know if we can be of any service. We appreciate your business and trust in us.
Warm regards, Paul
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!
This makes us incredibly happy on so many levels, Jill. Just goes to show that you can't go wrong with Pooh! We love working with customers to help them discover and collect for their libraries and special gifts like the one for your daughter. Thanks for choosing Grinning Cat Books and we hope to see you again! All the best, Paul
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!
We're so glad your son loves his book! Please visit us again soon and don't hesitate to give us a call if you decide to get something for yourself or are looking for another wonderful gift. All the best.
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 :)
Thank you for this wonderful review, Amy. People like you are the reason we're in this business. I enjoyed our conversation and I'm thrilled we were able to find something you enjoy so much! And we certainly appreciate your spreading the word about GCB. Please don't hesitate to call me if you want to talk more about growing your rare book collection, Children's Lit or otherwise!
Warmest regards,
Paul