Now Open in Larkspur: The Phoenix Used Bookshop!

The Phoenix Used Bookshop is now open in downtown Larkspur! What is the Phoenix and why is it special? It's Marin's first and only used bookshop dedicated exclusively to kids and teens, ages 0–16. The Phoenix Used Bookshop opened on May 13, 2026 at 501 Magnolia Avenue and will hold a grand opening party on Saturday, May 16, from 9 am to 7 pm. Stop by, say hello, and enjoy free goodies for the kids and a chance to win a $100 gift card, and find some great reads!

The shop's mission (in three sentences): Books build community. Every book finds its reader. Nothing gets landfilled.

Phoenix's shelves are stocked entirely by the local community — books arrive from Marin families, estate sales, and downsizing neighbors, and we say "yes" to every donation. Nothing gets landfilled. Every book finds its reader. 

The Phoenix is open Wednesday and Thursday from 9 am to 6 pm, Friday and Saturday from 9 am to 7 pm, and Sundays from 9 am–4 pm. (The shop is closed from 1 to 2 pm on weekdays for nap time.) It's closed Monday and Tuesday. Book contributions are accepted Wednesday through Sunday. Learn more at www.phoenixusedbookshop.com.

About the Phoenix's founder and owner, Stef Tousignant: I'm a Marin mom of two teenage boys and lifelong reader with a Master's degree in Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. I spent years studying what makes families and communities thrive — and kept coming back to books. When you read someone else's writing you get to feel exactly what it's like to be human, and they handed that to you, from their heart to yours. You can talk about a book with your closest friend or bring one up with a complete stranger. Books are one of the last places where we can disagree safely and with delight. That's community. The Phoenix exists because I believe that.

I also host a diary-style podcast called "A Bookshop of My Own," where I document the whole journey of building Phoenix in real time — the good decisions, the hard ones, and the ones I'm still figuring out. This has been a 1.5 year journey and its not over yet, I plan on opening a full size used bookshop for all ages next.