There’s nothing unusual about kids finding something for their mom to buy at a toy store.

Bettyanne Crane’s kids took matters a giant step farther. They found a toy store for their mom to buy, which let her move cross-country to be closer to them.

“Mom got homesick for her kids,” Crane said. “They found a shop, called me and said it was for rent, sent me the pictures, and I rented it over the phone.”

The result is Teddy Bear Express of Bainbridge Island, a new “toys-plus” store on Winslow Way next to That’s A Some Pizza. The space was most recently occupied by Sweet ’N’ Savory catering.

Crane sells toys aplenty, emphasizing “plush” stuffed animals and soft dolls.

There are tea sets, arts and crafts materials, and “Get Real Girl” dolls – somewhat more down-to-earth Barbie substitutes.

To appeal to boys, Crane carries an array of spy-type stuff, magnetic dart boards, snap-together model trains and checker games pitting the UW Huskies against the WSU Cougars and the Mariners against the Yankees.

For the toddler with an attitude, there are rockin’ Harleys – rocking-horse-type items in which a motorcycle substitutes for the more traditional wooden steed.

She also has an array of items that can be personalized with the owner’s name, including trays, footstools, art-supply boxes, clothes trees and hooks and wall decorations called “happy hang-ups,” 3-D pictures with names added.

Crane acknowledges that the store recreates happy childhood memories.

“I’ve enjoyed toy stores since I was a little girl,” she said.

For Crane, the variety of fare in her 500-square-foot space is an expansion. Her original store, Teddy Bear Express of New Jersey, was just bears.

“I had been working in a doll-house shop, and I wanted to open the store with a friend and do something different,” she said.

Teddy bears became the theme because of their universal appeal, she said.

“It was a big success. Everybody loves them,” she said.

“I used to have a big poster that explained why teddy bears make the best friends – they’re always there, they never talk back, and they don’t leave crumbs in the bed.”

That store was in Morris, New Jersey, near where Crane was raised. Morris is a lot like Bainbridge Island, Crane said – a small town with a lot of commuters to the big city.

While she was happy in Chester, her grown children decided to come west.

“They said they had to be near the real mountains, not the foothills we have in New Jersey,” Crane said.

Then the kids – Tom, a landscaper, Jon, an electrician, and Meghan, a cafe server and artist – started working on the parents to follow suit.

“We spent last August out here,” Crane said, “when it was really beautiful. We knew we wanted to come out here sometime, but didn’t know we would do it right away.”

Pictures of the storefront and a conversation with landlady Beverly McConnell persuaded Crane to make her move now.

“She was so nice,” Crane said of McConnell, “that I felt comfortable renting sight unseen.”

Crane and husband Bill arrived in February after going to a toy-industry trade show in New York, and went to work.

They repainted the store front, and installed new carpeting, walls and shelves within.

For Bill, a physics teacher in a private high school, the routine will mean a coast-to-coast commute during the rest of the school terms. He hopes to land a local teaching job by next fall.

The children are happy that Mom is nearby and so are the four grandchildren, especially nine-year-old Kelly, who worked a full day at the store on the opening Saturday.

“She said she wants to be here every Saturday,” Crane said. “We’ll see how long that lasts.”

The reaction so far has been positive, she said, with most of her customers coming from the island.

“People have been driving down the street, stopped in the middle of the street when they see the store, then come in to see what we’re doing,” she said.

“And people coming out of the barber shop and pizza place also come in to check us out.”

Although she has gotten here during a record-cold snap for late winter, she’s not discouraged about Northwest weather yet.

“The news in New Jersey used to say it rains here all the time,” she said.

“We know it’s not really like that.”