Upper West Side Stories

Upper West Side Stories has been a cherished neighborhood institution on Amsterdam Avenue since 1993, founded by former children's book editor Judith Kaplan who wanted to create a bookstore that could serve every member of a family. The ground floor children's section is a wonderland of picture books, middle-grade adventures, and young adult novels, with a dedicated storytime corner that hosts events nearly every day of the week. Upstairs, the adult collection caters to the Upper West Side's famously well-read population, with deep sections in literary fiction, history, psychology, and a niche classical music shelf that reflects the proximity of Lincoln Center. The in-store cafe is run in partnership with a local bakery and serves as an unofficial living room for the neighborhood's parents, professors, and retirees. Over the years the store has weathered the rise of online retail through sheer community devotion, with customers who consider it as essential to the neighborhood as Central Park itself.