Help Frugal Books Restore the Children's Corner

The building Frugal Bookstore is in caught fire on February 12, 2022. Frugal welcomes public donations to replenish stock from the water damage and repair store furnishings.

Frugal Bookstore is located In Nubian Square. It has the largest and most diverse collection of African American children's literature in metropolitan Boston. The Bookstore has played a critical role in expanding and diversifying the collection of African American children's literature in BPS classrooms and school libraries. School leaders and teachers routinely visit the bookstore, order books for their schools and classrooms and Frugal’s owners and operators deliver these books to their schools.

In virtually all of the cases, the collections of African American children’s literature at Frugals is more expansive and diverse than the collections at local libraries and also in libraries of Colleges and Universities. It is important to note that this includes the post-secondary institutions that educate the next generation of teachers and teacher-leaders.

Frugals has hosted a diversity of book talks by authors of African American adult and children’s books, including a book talk on The Oldest Student, a children’s book about the Life of the Black woman, who was born into slavery and learned to read at 100 years old. In addition, the store hosted a book talk by Marc Lamont Hill, a Temple University Professor at 10:pm, after his lecture and dinner at Northwestern University. The title of Professor Hill’s book is Nobody: inside America's War on Vulnerable Communities. Frugals is a place for the entire family.

Frugals collection includes classic and contemporary texts that Black adults want to read. As a consequence, Frugals is a place where Black families come to spend time, examining new and classic African American children and adult books. It is a go-to place for families.

The bookstore has attracted the attention of educators from suburban communities. These educators visit the bookstore, review the collection of books, and order books for their classrooms and schools from Frugals Books.

Before the pandemic, Frugals hosted a family book club, for middle school students and their parents. Monique Harris and Nicholl Montgomery, educators and experts in African American children’s literature, co-led the book club. In addition, the store hosted: "The No Name Book Club," "Cool Girls Book Club," and "The Black Cotton Club."

Frugals has become active in the annual Boston Book Festival hosted in Roxbury, offering book talks on African American Children’s literature and workshops by the educators and scholars affiliated with Frugals.