The current political climate is fueling children’s book sales at California’s Bookshop Santa Cruz, in Santa Cruz, Calif., reports children’s book buyer Gā Lombard.

We currently have a number of displays featuring books with a political drift, so I’d say that we are positioning rather than consciously handselling books on this topic. Displays definitely help sell a book.

One book that has been the number one bestseller for us for the last three weeks, which I’ve been keeping near the register, is The United States Constitution: What It Says, What It Means: A Hip Pocket Guide, a mini paperback from Oxford University Press. It has been very popular, because at $4.95 it’s not expensive, and it offers a clear interpretation of the Constitution.

A book that has been a bestseller for our store for the last couple of years is The Golden Rule, a gorgeous picture book written by Ilene Cooper and illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska. It was published 10 years ago, and I’ve put it on various display tables. The book emphasizes that various religions—Islam, Judaism, and Christianity—deal with the same basic tenets, and if a customer asks me for a book that will answer their kids’ questions about different religions, I recommend this. Or if someone asks me for anti-bullying books, or asks me for a book on manners, I also mention this book.

Another important book is Their Great Gift: Courage, Sacrifice, and Hope in a New Land by John Coy, which has gorgeous photographs by Wing Young Huie. It is a unique book that collects immigration stories focusing on children. Whenever I do talks for children’s booksellers, school librarians, teachers, and parents, this is a book I always recommend, and last year it was included in our newsletter’s annual roundup of what we think are the best children’s books of the year.

Newer books that are selling very well include I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley; and Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics by Margarita Engle and Rafael López.

Another excellent book that is one of our bestsellers is Juana and Lucas by Juana Medina, an early chapter book about a Colombian girl observing the world around her. It’s clear that her perspective is not that of someone living in the U.S., which is very interesting for kids to read. The book is not overtly political, and I think part of the reason it is selling so well is that these days a lot of us are wondering who we are, and this is an interesting take on that. This novel is a delight.

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, a Newbery Honor book, has never gone off our bestseller list since it was published. And I think in this case that is based on our handselling it—this is truly a stunning book.

We also really listen to our community, and to people’s requests. Recently someone asked me if I’d put up a display of books to tie in with the 75th anniversary of the Japanese internment, and so we did a table of some fantastic books, and they sold well off the display. We’ve also done a number of displays of books about Mexican Americans. It’s evident that many kids are scared today, and are comforted by these displays.

In fact, I think a lot of people come into our store these days to be comforted. We have always sold the paperback edition of Howard Zinn’s A Young People’s History of the United States: Columbus to the War on Terror, but now we are selling a lot of copies. I made about 200 photocopies of a lovely quote by Zinn, which we stuck into this book and some others, and it seems to be really affecting people, and driving sales. It’s a three-paragraph quote, and it begins: “To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.”