Follow the light, find the wonder
Follow the light, find the wonder
It started with a storefront — empty, full of potential.
When a friend posted a picture of the space, Michael, ever the serial entrepreneur, asked, "What would you put there?"
Without hesitation, Emily said, "A children's bookstore!!"
Between Emily's lifelong love of literature and Michael's drive to build meaningful things, the idea started to take shape. The timing felt right. The space felt right. And what could have been just a what if turned into something real — a place built on stories, imagination, and community, glowing a little brighter each day.
For Emily Mitchell, stories have always been home. Her earliest memory is of her mom reading Little House in the Big Woods in a pink-and-green bedroom, the words shaping her imagination long before she understood how much they'd matter. Books became the heartbeat of her life — from a master's in English literature to raising four children surrounded by stacks of picture books, library trips, and late-night read-alouds that ended with "just one more chapter."
For Emily, literature isn't just art — it's connection, empathy, and wonder. It's the feeling of a child leaning in, eyes wide, waiting to see what happens next.
Michael Plant came to stories through adventure — sled dogs, dragons, and faraway galaxies. He grew up loving the books that made him want to explore, to build, to understand how things worked. That curiosity carried him into marketing, analytics, and construction — where he learned how to turn ideas into reality.
Now, as a father and grandfather, that same imagination guides him back to where it all began — with stories. For Michael, books are bridges: between imagination and action, between generations, and between neighbors who still believe in the power of good stories.
Their paths are different — one led by literature, the other by building; one rooted in stories told aloud, the other in stories built piece by piece.
But The Wandering Lantern grew from a shared belief that stories still matter — that they can bring light into a world that often feels dark and hurried.
So they created a space for that light.
A warm, walkable bookstore in Lakewood where kids can get lost in adventure, where parents can pause for a moment, and where neighbors can reconnect through the simple, timeless act of sharing a good story.
Guided by stories that illuminate the good, The Wandering Lantern exists for anyone who still believes in wonder — and knows that sometimes, the smallest spark can light the way.