THE vibe at Paper Bird was electric and the kids absorbed as they tackled zombies, or more precisely a zombie rabbit, as drawn by local illustrator James Foley.

Foley and Sigi Cohen wrote and illustrated My Dead Bunny, a hoot of a kids’ book in the dark vein of Roald Dahl.

Foley’s zombie animal drawing and sculpture workshop is one of a number activities at children’s bookshop Paper Bird, on Henry Street in Fremantle’s West End.

• Photos by Steve Grant

Owner Jennifer Jackson opened the shop in February, when she saw a gap in the local market: “[There] wasn’t a dedicated children’s book shop…and I recognised there’s a wealth of children’s writers and illustrators in and around Fremantle needing a home.”

Full of gorgeous books for kids, from toddlers to teens, the beautifully laid out shop is a front, “to entice children in,” Ms Jackson says. Once in, there’s a heap of things on offer to entertain and educate with story-telling, illustration workshops and drawing classes, insect taxidermy and life drawing with live snakes (the non-poisonous sort), as part of the inkling Art Space school holiday program.

• Ryan Chapman tries his hand at clay; fauna

Formerly a psychotherapist working in children’s mental health, Ms Jackson says books help kids adapt to life’s ups and down, to process trauma, and relate to other people: “[And] all the possibilities out there.”

There’s been a resurgence of interest in books for kids and young adults, she says, “from kids themselves keen to access books and from parents recognising something irreplaceable about having a book in your hand and illustrations in front of you rather than on a screen”.

• Isla, Kerry and Sophie Wagner with books and pencils

Liaising with Notre Dame University education students, Paper Bird is set to offer homework classes, and book clubs, with the chance to meet the author.

“And they get to write their own review.”

Hilton local Meg McKinley is first cab off the rank with her book, A Single Stone.

• the bustling shop

Young adults are interested in books, Ms Jackson says, but are a tougher audience. She’s hoping to lure them in with bean bags and Q&A sessions with favourite authors. “Teens can come in and feel it’s a space for them.”

With New Edition and Bill Campbell’s second hand bookshop nearby on High Street, Paper Bird adds to a West End literary hub, Ms Jackson says.

And the shop’s name? It’s her mother’s family name, “[and] they were a family of story tellers.”

• Paper Bird owner Jennifer Jackson

by JENNY D’ANGER