SARASOTA, Fla. — Ana is getting dozens of Dork Diaries and Wimpy Kid books ready for the Tuesday morning rush at one of the coolest bookstores in the Tampa Bay area.
Ana is not going to her day job. She is actually just a second grader at Tuttle Elementary in Sarasota.
The bustling heart of the school is a unique student-run bookstore stocked with all the latest hits.
“I help kids pick out a fun book,” says Ana, who works at the store on Tuesday mornings before classes begin.
The bookstore is also open on Thursdays.
Teacher Amy Edelkind oversees the literary madness, a refreshing rush of kids unplugged from electronics and flipping out for the hottest new reads.
Tuttle is a Title 1 school, which means many of the students rely on financial assistance.
At the bookstore, the students use their own money, baggies of pennies and nickels to buy heavily discounted books bought via donations to the program.
Edelkind has a hard time saying no to kids who come up a few cents short.
“I contribute change a lot,” Edelkind says with a smile. “But I’m a teacher. That’s my job.”
