By Peggy Sturdivant

Green paper angels are hanging in the window at Secret Garden Bookshop, and behind the counter and above the book displays. On every angel there is a name, an age and a clue. The angels are not decoration, although they are festive. The angels are like secrets passed between benevolent spies to connect a child who would not otherwise receive a book for the holidays with a stranger who wants to gift a book to that child. Book angels.

Although Secret Garden Bookshop has a long history of gift trees it had become too difficult to make connections between specific schools and specific children. Enter Michele Bacon and her family, relocated to Ballard three years ago after two years in New Zealand. Bacon, author most recently of the Young Adult novel “Life Before” had a holiday tradition of giving books thanks to Anderson’s Bookshops in Illinois.

Christmas is a “big deal” for Michele Bacon, and she loves books and reading (as does her family). Before their first holiday here, having established Secret Garden as their local, independent bookstore, Bacon approached owner Christy McDanold to see if they had a book program. When she learned it was dormant Bacon asked, “Can I run it?”

Bacon had seen there was a need in the community when she was touring potential schools and shown a room where children experiencing homelessness could keep their belongings. “A book is a thing,” she said. “If it’s a treasure to just one child it’s worth it.”

So Bacon made contact with several schools, working with librarians, counselors and family liaisons to identify children not likely to receive a book (not too mention other gifts). The school contacts then determined if there were specific books that children wanted, genres or interests. That information is now on each book angel. “I like to try to find just the right book,” Bacon said. “My husband Charles prefers to simply choose their request.”

Their daughters each select an angel, the four year-old choosing another four year-old. “As a parent I think it’s important for my children to understand altruism,” Bacon said. “They are choosing a real thing for another child.”

What Bacon coordinates is mindboggling when it comes to logistics. After working with four schools the demand this year was for 125 book angels, up from 87 in 2013. Each angel was dye cut, labeled for a specific child in a specific school and then hung with the help of Secret Garden staff on Saturday, November 5th. In order to be distributed to the child before the school holidays (after pick-up at the bookstore, wrapping and school delivery) the deadline for purchase at Secret Garden Books is December 11th.

“The first year we put bows on all of them,” Bacon said, “what were we thinking?” In order to keep abreast Charles Bacon stops by the bookshop regularly to pick up the angels that have been matched with a book, bag in hand. Once purchased the books go on a shelf behind the counter. Clearly there’s progress but still angels hanging throughout the store. It’s tricky when it comes down to the wire because who wants to orphan an angel, and thereby miss a child? There’s also the possibility of a snowstorm or early school closure. Hence the deadline of December 11, just five days (and one hour early dismissal) before the winter break.

Secret Garden Bookshop offers the buyer a discount on these books. “What’s really amazing is how many customers want to buy extra books for the child,” Secret Garden’s McDanold said. “They don’t want to give just one.”

Meanwhile all of the Bacon family prepares for the last minute onslaught of books, hoping that not even one of the 125 green angels remains by close of business on Sunday, December 11th. They are fortified by matching a book to a student who doesn’t even know to expect the gift: a gift that may not appear until Christmas morning or a night during Hanukkah.

Before the holidays Bacon asked a friend if she would complete the book angels if anything happened to her before the deadline. Her friend assured her nothing was going to go wrong. “But will you?” Bacon pressed her friend. Of course the answer was yes. As it should be for anyone asking, “Should I go to Secret Garden and choose a book for a child?” (Yes, and I bet you could even call).

The countdown is really on now that it’s December but Secret Garden Bookshop loves being able to give back to the community in such a specific way. “Although,” Christy McDanold said, “I think the real angel is Michele Bacon.”

Secret Garden Bookshop, 2214 NW Market St., 98107, www.secretgardenbooks.com, 206.789.5006