Bookseller and author Joel Fram, founder of beloved pioneering children’s-only shop Eeyore’s Books for Children in Manhattan, died on May 6 from complications following a cancer surgery. He was 81.

Fram was living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in the 1970s and doing trade in academic and out-of-print books from his apartment, when he made a career leap. Inspired by his passion for children’s books and the desire to bring a quality, specialty business to his family-oriented neighborhood, he opened the doors to the first Eeyore’s—a small store off Broadway at 82nd Street—in 1974. At the time it was the only bookstore in Manhattan devoted exclusively to children’s books and was one of the first of its kind nationwide. In a 1982 interview, Fram told PW that the first three years were very difficult, but that he stayed the course: “I knew it would work because the growth and interest were there.” By late 1977 he moved the operation to a larger space at Broadway and 79th Street, where business started booming and where he developed innovative programming and activities including storytimes and puppet shows. And in October 1981, Fram debuted a second Eeyore’s branch on the city’s Upper East Side.

In developing his specialty store model, Fram took care to provide highly trained staff who could deftly handle customers’ requests for appropriate book suggestions. His colleagues and former employees praised him for having a keen sense for finding talented personnel. Over the years, Eeyore’s alumni became such a close-knit group that former co-workers, several of whom went on to careers in the children’s book industry, still gather for reunions.

Though both stores performed well into the late 1980s, they unfortunately were shuttered in quick succession in summer 1993, falling victim to economic downturns and competition from Barnes & Noble superstores that opened near both Eeyore’s locations. “I think I really did create something that really contributed to the neighborhood,” Fram told the New York Times after closing the West Side store for good.

Following his Eeyore’s era, Fram launched a book packaging business, Joel Fram & Associates, and turned more of his time to writing. Among his projects were: I Heard It Through the Playground: 616 Best Tips from the Mommy and Daddy Network for Raising a Happy, Healthy Child from Birth to Age Five with Carol Boswell and Margaret Maas (Harper Perennial, 1993); and three titles co-written with Sandra Salmans: Slip of the Tongue: Offhand Remarks That Ended High-Flying Careers (Running Press, 2005); Weird Cures: The Most Hilarious, Disgusting, and Downright Dangerous Medical Treatments Ever (Running Press, 2006); and Untying the Knot: An Irreverent View of Divorce (Running Press, 2007). And in 1999 he re-published The Molly Goldberg Jewish Cookbook (Joel Fram & Associates).

A private memorial service for Fram took place on May 31. In a note about the event, author booking agent Kate Kubert Puls, a former manager of the East Side Eeyore’s, wrote: “Joel’s sense of humor, his kindness, and his generosity, as well as his love of travel, were highlighted. Eeyore’s representatives mentioned his foresight as he envisioned the first all-children’s bookstore in New York City, his strengths as a bookseller, and his ability to hire excellent staff who went on to become award-winning children’s book authors and illustrators, school librarians, publishers, editors, publicists, and marketeers, as well as continuing as booksellers.”

Steve Geck, a longtime children’s book editor, was manager and buyer at the West Side Eeyore’s when he hired new Rhode Island School of Design graduate (and now award-winning author-illustrator) Brian Selznick as a bookseller—after famously turning him away initially and challenging Selznick to come back and try again once he studied up on children’s literature.

Geck recalled Fram’s joyful spirit and dedication to making Eeyore’s a special destination. “Joel got so much pleasure from seeing the stores full of children, parents, caretakers, tourists, and anyone who stopped in as they were walking past. He walked into the store one day when it was full of parents and children and looked around and said, ‘It looks like Stroller Wars.’ Even in a place as vast as Manhattan, Joel worked tirelessly to have community events. He regularly hosted book fairs, author appearances, fundraisers, and school visits. Brian Selznick was a bookseller at Eeyore’s when his first book The Houdini Box was published, and Joel was delighted to host the launch party at the store.”

And Caldecott Medalist Selznick, who additionally painted and designed Eeyore’s store windows for holidays and events back in the day, shared this tribute: “The most vivid memory I have of Joel was the time he and I took turns playing Clifford the Big Red Dog during a summer street fair. Eeyore’s had borrowed a giant costume from Scholastic and somehow the two people who agreed to trade off inside that hot suit were me and Joel. I was fresh out of college with dreams of maybe publishing a book one day, and I loved that the owner of the store was happy to dress up as Clifford, too. Being the Big Red Dog turned out to be a hard job because when people see a six-foot-tall Clifford they really want to hug him, and that just made the hot costume hotter. But I think this is a good metaphor for Joel’s dedication to children’s literature, and to the ways he served his community. He may have named his store after the very sad, self-effacing donkey from Winnie-the-Pooh, but he loved making people smile, and he really did care about everyone who came to Eeyore’s. He showed all of us what dedication and love really look like, and he was willing to do the work, inside and out!”