When Sue Little was growing up on the family homestead in Newbury, the town was a farming community and Newburyport was a rundown mill town.  She came back to the area in 1971 after college and a year Paris and started working as a bartender at The Grog. “I saw a huge change -- HUGE.

“It was very natural to me to take the bus into Boston with my backpack to buy 20 or 30 books,” she said.  “Then I thought that other people were probably doing the same thing.” She had a vision of doing something that she loved, and selling books looked to her like the thing.

 

Being a practical Yankee, she got catalogs from publishers and very carefully chose a selection of books she could buy with her $2,000 in savings.  She got a small space on Temple Street, built some bookshelves, and opened for business. “Why spend money on fixtures when you can spend it on books?” Little said.

Thus began the Little Book Shop which later became the Jabberwocky Bookshop.  Sue Little was 22 years old.

Every day at 5 p.m., she would close the store and run down to The Grog to make money.  “Back then, every book I sold, I could by one-half of another one.  I had to think carefully about every penny -- more importantly, about every book.”

Jabberwocky’s second home was 10 State Street, where the Book Rack had already opened down the street at number 52.  The building was still all boarded up as part of the renovation of downtown Newburyport, and big red arrows drawn onto the boards by construction workers were the only way for customers to find her, she says.  Soon enough, though, she was able to expand.

Her move to the new development at The Tannery in 1986 was met with dismay from some customers.  They did not think that the business could survive “out there.”   But the parking situation downtown was getting worse, and The Tannery location offered parking right outside her door

She again built all her own fixtures (this time with some help) and put in a café, which she ran for about 15 years, next door.

Family and community are important to Little.  Both of her children could be seen scampering in the aisles and among shelves when they were youngsters, and her mother has worked there for 25 years. Her sister Nancy Streeter owns Eureka! toy shop next door. Said Streeter: “I took her books and surrounded them with toys.”  It’s a unique combination of educational toys and books in the same display that has sparked the imagination of many a child.

Little is also a dedicated supporter of local authors. She offers them plenty of visible display space and the opportunity to give readings in the Green Room. Local author Anne Easter Smith praised Little for her encouragement and support of area writers. "It has been wonderful to know at least one bookseller appreciates one's writing," the historical novelist said. "Sue gave me such positive feedback on the advanced copy of my first book, A Rose for the Crown, that I went into the publishing process with confidence instead of trepidation. And then when I met other independent booksellers all over the country on my tours, I was surprised and proud how many of them knew Sue and spoke so highly of her. For me, that was tremendous validation of her critique."

Little is the tenth generation Little to live on the family farm in Newbury, which was started by her ancestor George Little around 1640. (Her great aunts owned the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm.) She is also a granddaughter of Arthur S. Page, founder of the Newburyport insurance agency.

“I love it now,” she says about the city, “but I miss the funky town I came back to in the 1970s.”