About us
The History of baby book baskets
From 1985-1995, Once Upon A Time was one of the most
successful and respected independent children's bookstores in the country. Located in New Rochelle, New York, the store hosted a multitude of authors and illustrators, with their book signings and story hour events.
Co-owner Jane Gelbard wrote the monthly newsletter, organized in-store promotions, and was hands-on in the store's daily activities where she used her extensive knowledge to guide parents to books for young readers. Jane's passion for children's literature dates way back to her college days as an English major, when she had the honor of doing an independent study with Margret A. Rey, the creator of the Curious George books.
Once the retail store closed, Jane made the decision to grow the baby book basket division of Once Upon A Time. This gave her the opportunity to continue to do what she had come to love the most - helping to create introductory libraries for new babies and toddlers - to guide them to the magical world of stories and illustrations, and to offer customers the book basket as the perfect new baby gift! This is how Once Upon A Time gave way to BabyBookBaskets.com - an online business that has been growing and thriving to this day!