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The mall was a sacred space.
Courtesy of Chronicle Books
It was where teen lifehappened.
Illustrator Sally Nixons new lovingly detailed seek-and-find book (a la Wheres Waldo?
it’s possible for you to almost hear the Muzak, smell the Auntie Annes.
But if you were a kid then, it seemed like it was.
Back then, the mall was a haven, where teens first tasted freedom from their parents.
That was one of the first places our parents let us go by ourselves because it seemed pretty safe.
Windbreakers figure prominently in the illustrations, as do acid-wash denim and graphic, oversized sweaters.
But even with its obvious affection for these sites and people, the book has a bittersweet tinge.
(Nixons young nieces have asked her what a VCR and cassette tape are.)
No single location has supplanted the mall in fostering such formative extracurricular experiences as I and many others had.
Nixon agrees, admitting that she rarely finds herself at the mall now.
People think that with social media, kids dont need a place to come together.
But they definitely need a physical space to go to.
Images:Lets Go to the Mall: An 80s Seek-and-Findby Sally Nixon, published by Chronicle Books 2024.
Let’s Go to the Mall: An 80s Seek-and-Find
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