{little blog of stories}

School's Out For Summer

2009-06-24T11:12:00.002-04:00

Hurray for more reviews! Here's one from Osiris Hassan. The book he reviewed, School of Fear by Gitty Geshnavari, comes out in September, so look for it in a few months. Here's a preview of good things to come....

School of Fear by Gitty Geshnavari
Review by Osiris Hassan

Ok, so everyone is afraid of something right? These fears are called phobias, everybody’s got at least one. Nobody is fearless no matter how much they proclaim to be in fact these people are probably extreme phobophobics- someone who fears fear itself. I know that’s extreme but that’s just one of the less crazy phobias: abolutaphobia- the fear of washing or bathing, cacophobia- the fear of ugliness, asymmetriphobia- the fear of asymmetrical things, chorophobia- the fear of dancing, and weirdest of all: hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words.

In some cases, people take their phobias to an extreme level. Take Madeline Masterson for example: an extreme arachnophobe, she doesn’t go anywhere without her trusty repellents and veil, Or Theodore Bartholomew: an extremely overreacvtive, melodramatic, half-insane thantophobe who has to keep up with all of his family membersat all times. How about lulu punchalower? A snobby, stuck-up, stankin’ rich claustrophobe who gets queasy at the very mention of confined spaces, but she’d rather drop-spin-hammer fist- tornado kick you off the twin towers than admit it. These three these crazedextreme phobic 12 year olds along with extreme athlete/aquaphobegarrison Feldman make a very formidable group of students.

Out in the middle of nowhere there’s an exclusive school, only for the most extreme phobics. In order to be accepted your parents must complete 6 tons of paperwork and sign so many confidentiality agreements that if you laid them out in a line and walked on them you’d end up in the land of the lost. This place is called the school of fear. Run by an ex-pageant queen- who still thinks she is 16 even though she is really 65-, a half blind 80-year-old caretaker,and a
wager crazed lawyer. This school is dedicated to completely and totally eradicating extreme phobias in children. Thrown in the face of this adversity these four fear ridden 12 year olds will have toband together in order to save their only chance of normality.

I liked this book because it shows kids of any age how you can overcome
your fears.

Bombs Away!

2009-06-23T13:10:00.005-04:00

Not only do we love to post your reviews, we also love when you give us suggestions about books to carry in our store! A frequent customer, Anne Radford, came into the shop a few weeks ago and recommended Janice Earlbaum's (first) memoir, Girlbomb. So now it's a title we carry. Here's her review:

I hesitated to begin this book, fearing that my funny, caustic, warmwriting teacher, Janice Erlbaum, had a story that would be hard toread. I was right. However, once I began, I couldn’t stop.
As a young teen Janice Erlbaum was forced to make a terribledecision: stay in her mother’s home, a forced witness to domesticviolence, or leave. She left, and ended up on the streets ofManhattan; a jewish girl from Brooklyn, homeless and lost. In thismemoir, Erlbaum shares her story of growing up in the shelter system,and how she survived. While the facts of the story may be unique, andones to which a reader doesn’t directly identify, Erlbaum writes offriendships, pain, fear, sadness, addiction, love and loss, in a wayin which any reader can relate. The hardest part of this book, forme, was finishing it. She became someone I wanted to know, wanted tohear more from, and I was thrilled when her second memoir, Have You Found Her, following shortly. I encourage young teens, with parentalsupervision, and adults to read this book. I loved it, and hope you will too.

The Early Skinny on The 2009 AJC Decatur Book Festival

2009-06-23T10:04:00.005-04:00

Daren and Tom held court last night at Eddie's Attic during the media launch of the 2009 Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival Presented by DeKalb Medical. The presentation of the highlights of this year's festival just kept going and going, with each new announcement seeming to trump the previous amazing announcement.

"How," you may ask, "did this book festival held in little Decatur grow to become the nation's fourth largest?" Quite simply, there are great people behind the scenes who pour so much energy into the project.

To give you an idea of the creativity, breadth, and sense of fun that the folks who run the DBF bring to their tasks, this year will feature novelist and journalist Michael Muhammad Knight in a wrestling match with Abdullah the Butcher, followed by a reading. Singers Mary Chapin Carpenter, Caroline Herring, Kate Campbell, and Claire Holley will be performing a Centennial Celebration of Eudora Weltly's 100th birthday. Emory science Ph.D. candidates will be presenting their research in a format similar to that of a poetry slam. The list goes on, and it's not yet complete. You can get a rundown of the events at www.decaturbookfestival.com.

Little Shop of Stories organizes the programing for the Target Children's Stage as well as for The Escape. This teen stage will increase in length to cover two days of the festival.

I'll be blogging a lot more about the authors coming to DBF as the festival draws closer, but here are just a few of the highlights of the children's stage:

Kate DiCamillo - Her Tales of Despereaux won the Newbery Medal in 2003. In addition, she is the author of Because of Winn-Dixie, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and the Mercy Watson chapter books. Kate's new book is The Magician's Elephant. I just finished it last week, and fell in love. I reads like a classic fairy tale.

Jarret J. Krosoczka - We have absolutely loved his two Punk Farm books since we opened Little Shop. He will be releasing Lunch Lady, a graphic novel series for young readers, in July. It has already been picked up by Universal Pictures, with Amy Poehler set to star.

Eric Litwin and James Dean - The author and illustrator of Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes will be on stage. Mr. Eric is a very talented storyteller and musician. James is a local artist best known for his Pete paintings. This was our top selling picture book in 2008 and again (so far) in 2009. We're excited about Eric and James' success and thrilled to have them on the children's stage.

Loren Long - Loren is an illustrator with a long list of accomplishments, including the 2005 edition of The Little Engine That Could. He is the author and illustrator of the upcoming Otis, and will be the Grand Marshal of this year's parade.

Judy Schachner - The author of the Skippyjon Jones books returns! Judy came to DBF in 2007 and absolutley wowed everyone. We knew we had to have her back. Skippyjon Jones: Lost in Spice is due out this fall! We love Skippy. We love the books. We love Judy.

Jon Scieszka - A partial list of great books authored by Jon Scieszka (rhymes with Fresca) include The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Fairy Tales, Math Curse, Seen Art?, Time Warp Trio books, Trucktown books, Guys Write for Guys Read (editor), and Knucklehead. Jon, an enthusiastic advocate for reading, is also the Library of Congress' National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. He came to Little Shop a couple of years ago and we are thrilled he is coming to DBF.

Wow. Any one of these authors would have made this a great festival for families. Having each one here, as well as a long list of other writers and illustrators, will make for a phenomenal festival.

Keep reading this blog!

- Dave

Come Say Goodbye to Rick!

2009-06-22T12:07:00.002-04:00

Rick, our resident Sunday Storytime dude, computer whiz, newsletter writer, and all-around good guy, is leaving us. Sniff. There’s simply no way for us to express our level of sadness. Rick has been with Little Shop for nearly 3 ½ years -- which is most all of our existence – and has been a great co-worker and a friend right from the start.

Coming here from Seattle to spend some time with their daughter and new grandson, Rick and his wife are moving to Portland to spend some time with their other daughter and new granddaughter.

Rick’s last day will be Sunday, June 28th. He’ll be doing his farewell storytime at 3 p.m. We’ll have food and kid drinks for the kids and adult drinks for the adults. Stop by!

- Dave

The Life and Death of Edgar Allan Poe

2009-06-22T01:07:00.002-04:00

A Little History

Edgar Allan Poe was born 200 years ago, in 1809, the second of three children and the son of impoverished actors. His father either died or ran off in 1810; if he abandoned his family, it is unknown what became of him. His mother died in 1811, possibly from tuberculosis. She was 24. The children were raised separately in foster homes - Edgar to a childless couple, John and Frances Allan. (Thus, his middle name.)

His older brother died, possibly of cholera or of tuberculosis and alcoholism. He was 24. He had a younger sister who was apparently stricken with meningitis and left mentally and/or physically debilitated. She later lived at a charitable institution where she died in 1874.

Poe married the daughter of his father's sister (his first cousin) when he was 27 and she was 13. She would die of tuberculosis at the age of 24. They had no children; it has been suggested that they never consummated the marriage.

Poe died in 1849 at the age of 40. The cause of death was unclear but, as noted by the ultimate authority known as Wikipedia, has been variously attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, and other agents.

People back then were not necessarily tougher than us. But they had tough lives.

Dave

More Reviews!!!

2009-06-11T11:11:00.003-04:00

We have another review today, and this one comes from Kellie McCollum. Thanks, Kellie!

All Other Nights by Dara Horn
At first glance, All Other Nights by Dara Horn is a romance set during the Civil War. You could read this novel because you want a romantic story. You might also be looking for an imaginative story of the Jewish community’s struggles in this formative time of America’s history. You could read it purely as a Civil War buff or as a lover of early American politics. I believe any of these desires would be satisfied.

However, as you seep down through its pages and become immersed in its characters and the history of the time, you will discover that it is much more than that. I believe what you will find is a story deeply involved in its characters, their lives and lies; a story intertwined in subterfuge and politics set against the backdrop of the Civil War. Before long you will begin to wonder if any of the characters are telling the truth. Each is enthralled by his own struggle, both internal and external, and it is these struggles that point to the underlying theme of motivation for devotion and, through devotion,
glory. The questions it seems to ask are: Can you obtain glory through devotion? Is glory a sin as pride is a sin, or does devotion to a cause cleanse the sin of self glorification once the goal of the devotion is attained?

All Other Nights is thought provoking and beautiful. It will hold your attention through to the very end of the novel and keep you asking questions and thinking about it for a long time to come.
--Kellie McCollum
Decatur, GA

Looking for Marco Polo & grk Smells A Rat

2009-06-09T16:42:00.003-04:00

Guest reviews of Alan Armstrong's Looking for Marco Polo and Joshua Doder's grk Smells A Rat

Reviews by Anjing Xionyzou

When Mark and his mother lose touch with his father's Gobi Desert expedition, the two go to Venice, Italy where Mark learns about Marco Polo's journey to China.

Looking for Marco Polo is a very heart pounding mystery and adventure book. I highly recommend it to any person because it is well written description of Marco Polo. The book is due out on September 22nd.

In grk Smells A Rat, Tim and his dog, grk, along with Tim's parents and friends Natasha and Max, travel to India. Max plays in the Vijay Ghat International Lawn Tennis Association Champtionship, where they face the evil, infamous Blue Rat gang. What will they do?

grk Smells A Rat is a very adventurous and humerous historical fiction book.

New York, New York

2009-06-05T18:49:00.003-04:00

I recently returned from Book Expo America in New York. This is a combination American Bookseller Association conference/industry trade show/vacation. It's an opportunity to find out new things happening in the publishing world, attend workshops, generate ideas, mingle with authors, and to get revitalized.

It is always a great experience. Each trip generates highlights. Among this year's standout moments include hearing Julie Andrews and Tomie dePaola talk and having tea with Rosemary Wells. I spoke briefly with Sherman Alexie (author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian), who is a phenominal writer and a walking inspiration to everyone in the industry. I stood next to Dave Barry (under conditions where I had to stare straight ahead and could not talk -- it's a guy thing). And I got to hear Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul, and Mary fame) sing and had an opportunity to meet with him. He spoke fondly of Atlanta, of working with former Atlanta mayor Sam Massell, and of his admiration for former senator Max Cleland. In addition to the Puff, The Magic Dragon book, Peter has a new one coming out this fall based on his song Day is Done. Great guy.

So now I'm all reinspired. It helps every now and then to realize how great it is to be working in a children's bookstore.

- Dave

Rick Riordan Came to Little Shop!

2009-05-22T10:53:00.004-04:00

We had a great time during Rick Riordan's third trip to Decatur. Around 1,000 came over to the Rec Center on Monday afternoon to hear Rick talk about his Percy Jackson books, the upcoming movie, and what he's working on next.

Besides writing great books, Rick is simply a great guy. Despite being on the road for two weeks and on the second to last leg of his tour, he took his time connecting to the kids and answering questions. Thanks, Rick!!!

Little Shop would also like to thank Hyperion Books, the Decatur Recreation Center, the folks at Decatur Active Living, and Joe Davich and Georgia Center for the Book, for helping us put on this event.

For those of you who could not make it, we have a few signed copies of The Last Olympian left, as well as The Demigod Files. Also, there are some Last Olympian T-Shirts left.

Stone Voice Rising & Monster's Proof

2009-05-22T10:42:00.003-04:00

Amelia Stauss, a great reader and a Little Shop regular, sends us reviews of two books she recently read. (Thanks, Amelia!)

Stone Voice Rising
by C. Lee Tocci
It was a wonderful book full of suspense. Some parts are scary and others happy. You feel like you're hanging off the edge of a high cliff. I read it two times in three days!

Monster's Proof
by Richard Lewis.
This is another scary tale full of mystery and equations. It proves the unimaginable - a math monster! Can you imagine that?
Note: this book is due out July 7th.

Help get a young man a book

2009-05-14T09:45:00.002-04:00

Actually, you can help a lot of young men get books.

Some of you who've read this blog for a while (a good long while, at this point) may know that I regularly contribute to Guys Lit Wire, a blog that recommends books for teen boys. Well, we've begun a new initiative: starting yesterday, we're holding a book fair for boys incarcerated with no access to books.

See, boys in the LA County Juvenile Justice System are desperate to read, but there's no library. However, they can read books that are sent to them. Thus, our book fair.

Please go read this post to find out more.

Thanks!

Stonewall Hinkelman blog tour 2009--Last Stop!

2009-05-09T09:39:00.003-04:00

This blog post is part of the Stonewall’s Blog Tour. The master link will guide you to other parts of the tour. You can win prizes courtesy of Dial Books For Young Readers: the Stonewall Hinkleman Prize Pack contains a signed copy of Stonewall Hinkleman & The Battle of Bull Run, a t-shirt just like Stonewall wears on the cover, plus advance copies of other Dial Books for Young Readers titles. To enter, send an email to blogtour@stonewallhinkleman.com and put "Stonewall Contest" in the subject line.

Today I’m excited to participate in the Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run blog tour. See, our old pal Sam Riddleburger, author of The Qwikpick Adventure Society, got together with his friend Mike Hemphill and wrote a time traveling romp romp of a book. It’s awesome, great fun, with great characters, great action and adventure, and if you aren’t careful, you just might learn you some Civil War history.

Young Stonewall Hinkleman is the son of avid Civil War re-enactors, and so of course he hates all things Civil War. But he wishes he’d paid more attention to his parent’s obsession when a magic bugle transports him back to the Battle of Bull Run, where he has to stop a mad plot to change history!

Um, hang on. Before I go on: have you clicked on the link above? The other stops on this tour? Hokey Majokey—what a great bunch of posts! And here I am, coming in at the end, and a little late at that. I wish I could go back in time, see what was coming, and write some totally awesome post that I could then post on time. On blogger, you can kind of rig going back in time…I used to. If I was late posting to the little shop blog, I would change the posting date and time so it would look like I had posted on time. But then I got in trouble with the blogger powers-that-be.

Time travel is a compelling idea, and we can never quite shake its power. Anybody watch Lost? Time travel , hinted at for seasons on end, has suddenly leapt crazily to the fore. Here’s a whole bunch of posts about time travel kidslit: she calls it Timeslip Tuesday! When I was a kid, one of my favorite series was Simon Hawke’s Time Wars books. In the series, agents of a time-monitoring agency traveled through time trying to ensure that radical anarchists didn’t forever change the timeline.

The strange thing about that series, looking back on it as an adult, is the basic underlying question of history—is it sacrosanct? Is history larger than us? I mean what’s so important about what happened in the past that we would never want to change it? And that’s part of what I like so much about Stonewall Hinkleman: the book asks those big questions. I mean, Stonewall doesn’t struggle to preserve what happened at Bull Run because “that’s what happened.” No, he wants to make sure that battle and the whole of the Civil War is won by the Union because the alternative would be catastrophic—wrong and terrible in a very real way to Stonewall.

In one of my other blogging hats, I write for the teen boy’s book blog, Guys Lit Wire, and several months ago I reviewed a book by Terry Bisson called Fire on the Mountain. What is so breathtaking about this book is that it imagines an alternate history, one where the Civil War was not as we know it, but a true slave uprising, a revolution instead. And the result was a South completely unlike the one in which we live—In its stead stands a Neo Africa, a monument to world peace and knowledge. In Fire on the Mountain, Terry Bisson has imagined a utopian world that might have been, and as a consequence the book causes us to question those things we hold onto as “meant to be,” simply because that’s the way things happened.

So Stonewall Hinkelman? This kid who is thrown back in time and finds himself to be the only one able to save the future from the terrible forces of hatred, bigotry, ignorance, and the inevitable march of history? He could care less about making sure that everything works out “exactly as it should.” He has nothing invested in history for its own sake, or nostalgia. Instead, he’s busting his tail trying to do what he thinks is right. And there’s no “grandfather law,” no Unchanging Laws of Time and the Universe making sure that whatever happened, always happened.

So he does end up changing history. Not in any huge, re-write the history books kind of way—but in a very human, personal way. And isn’t that awesome? A book that says, “You may just be a kid with nothing but a bugle, but you can change history for the better?”

Oh, and it's got lots of laughs, that Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run book. Did I mention that?

So now we come to the end of the Stonewall Hinkelman and the Battle of Bull Run blog tour. Thanks to Sam and Michael for letting me participate, and thanks to all the other bloggers for some great Stonewall posts. Don’t forget about the great contest I mentioned above—email Dial for the great book swag!

Silver Pheonix Review

2009-05-05T13:07:00.004-04:00

We love when people write book reviews for us! Thanks to local illustrator Elizabeth Dulemba for her review of Silver Pheonix by Cindy Pon.

"Thanks so much for letting me read the ARC for SILVER PHOENIX by Cindy Pon. It's much like the movie, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in it's old society, Asian feel. It's also extremely plot driven but with an Asian mythology that most
readers won't be familiar with (and therefore sounds new) - the protagonists travel to the lands of the 'gods'.
Basic plot: Ai Ling's father travels to the palace but never comes home. An older man tries to rope Ai Ling into a marriage she knows her father would never agree to, so she leaves to search for her father. She ends up meeting and traveling with Chen Yong - a young man of mixed descent. During their journey magical creatures and demons seem intent on stopping them. But Ai Ling has a magic amulet that protects her and a budding skill to enter people's souls, making it possible to read their minds or defeat them. While visiting the gods, she learns that the Emperor's counselor was in love with Ai Ling in a previous life and is still intent on marrying her. He's managed to cheat death for generations by stealing souls. Ai Ling must defeat him to free her father.
Things do keep coming at you without set-up or warning (and leaving just as quickly), but it was still engaging and interesting. There are some scenes that are rather mature - an almost rape scene and a marital night scene that goes just shy of 'doing it.' The girl doesn't end up with the guy, but does set the reader up for a sequel with more adventures (which Cindy is contracted for). I didn't love the book, but I was definitely engaged. This is Cindy's first novel, and the writing was a bit rough (as far as things coming at you), however, I'd definitely keep an eye on future works. I
think it might be a good hand-sell for older readers who loved the Riordan books or other fantasy books."
Happy reading, everyone!

Writers on Motherhood

2009-05-03T13:16:00.005-04:00

Mother's Day is next Sunday, and we wanted to take a moment to give a shout out to all the great moms we know, with some help from some of our literary friends:

Because I feel that in the heavens above/ The angels whispering one to another/Can find among their burning tears of love/None so devotional as that of "Mother"/Therefore, by that dear name I have long called you/You who are more than mother unto me.~Edgar Allan Poe

My mother had a slender, small body, but a large heart - a heart so large that everybody's joys found welcome in it, and hospitable accommodation. ~Mark Twain

If I was damned of body and soul/I know whose prayers would make me whole/Mother o' mine, O mother o'mine.~Rudyard Kipling

Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mother's love is not. ~James Joyce

The tie which links mother and child is of such pure and immaculate strength as to be never violated. ~Washington Irving

Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that suppose to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing. ~Toni Morrison

A mother's arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them. ~Victor Hugo

[A] mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled. ~Emily Dickinson

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his. ~Oscar Wilde

A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.-- Agatha Christie

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.-- Honore' de Balzac

To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power.-- Maya Angelou

My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.-- Mark Twain

Happy Mother's Day to all of our favorite moms!

The Little Shop Crew

Our Baby Girl Is All Growed Up

2009-04-10T19:45:00.003-04:00

PURE is HERE!

It's pretty and shiny and new and it was written by one of our MOST FAVORITE people in the world- our very own store manager, TERRA ELAN MCVOY!

Yes, it's one of Little Shop's Not So Best Kept Secrets, but now we are ready to shout it out to the world and hope you will join us on Friday April 17th at 7:30 as we celebrate Terra, her book, and just her general wonderfulness that she brings with her everyday to Little Shop. Although her book is for teen and adult readers, we invite even her youngest fans to join us. We will have live music, drinks, cupcakes from Buttoncakes Bakery, and a reading or two from You Know Who.

So, won't you join us? It promises to be our best party yet.

City of Glass Book Review

2009-03-31T13:14:00.007-04:00

One of the perks of working at a bookstore is getting to read the advance copies of books before they're printed. That way we already knew, for example, that Laurie Halse Anderson's Wintergirls was ah-mazing, even before it was released. (Time out for a second while I plug our Laurie Halse Andersond event TONIGHT at the Decatur Library at 7 pm. Laurie is a super talented writer and speaker and we're all thrilled that she's coming in to town to talk about Wintergirls.)

Time in. Anyway, as I was saying, we get in so many galleys that we can't read them all before they're published, so we like to hand them off to our friends to see what they think. We're extra willing to give you a book if you'll promise to write a review for us in return. So here is Sarah Lohmeier's review of the third book in the Mortal Instruments series, City of Glass, which just came out last week:

I absolutely L-O-V-E-D the first two books of Casandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series, City of Bones and City of Ashes, and had high expectations for this last part of the trilogy, City of Glass. So many authors create a great first book, but ruin the rest of the series. Cassandra Clare, however, managed to keep the excitement of City of Bones in the entire series through the end- and what excitement! I couldn't put this book down from the first page. Clary's search to save her mother tuns into a quest to save her friends, her city- and herself. The characters grow into themselves, a war is narrowly averted, truth comes to light, love blossoms, and death is avoided all at a breakneck pace. The great plot stars characters who are easy to connect with, and the book is peppered with funny dialogue. Read it!
-Sarah Lohmeier
PS Thank you so much for the advanced copy!!
--Krista Gilliam

The Closing of Wordsmiths

2009-03-03T16:07:00.001-05:00

It takes an enormous amount of bravery to open an independent bookstore — especially a general bookstore — even in the best of times. Zach at Wordsmiths was no exception. He had a vision and fought hard to make it happen.

The entire publishing industry was hurting prior to the economic downturn last year, and now the situation for many is dire. Publishing houses are laying off significant numbers of editors and sales reps, stopping new acquisitions, closing imprints, and consolidating. Trade news regularly features the shutting of long-established independent bookstores. Shares in Barnes and Noble are trading at 1/3rd of their value in 2006. Borders is down about 98% during the same time period and is in danger of going under. I could go on.

Wordsmiths did a lot of things right. It had a devoted following, brought in tons of authors to our community, and even moved to a more visible location. It still wasn’t enough. Our hearts go out to Zach and his employees.

Dave

Let's Get Fancy

2009-03-03T15:47:00.011-05:00

Never one to pass up a chance to get fancy, I'd been excited for months about our annual Valentine's Day Fancy Storytime. We made invitations cordially inviting little ladies and gentlemen to attend in their fanciest attire and planned a nice afternoon of snacks and stories and all things fancy. The fanciest thing I own is my wedding dress, so I put it on for the event and honestly, it was almost as much fun as my actual wedding.

And I'm glad I wore it, because otherwise I might have been under dressed! Girls showed up in droves, wearing flower girl dresses, tutus, feather boas, tiaras and princess costumes. Little bits of ribbon and pink feathers could be found in corners and under bookshelves for the rest of the weekend. The girls were beautiful, and you could tell they felt beautiful, and their moms looked beautiful, too, dressed up in borrowed accessories and big hats. The dads that stayed looked dapper as well, but I did overheard two dads making a break for Brick Store until the event was over.

Not only did Amy, Justin and I read some of our favorite fancy stories (The Knight Who Took All Day, Clifford's Manners and Fancy Nancy--of course) we also taught the kids how to be fancy. In case you didn't make it, being fancy involves talking in French (merci), bowing and curtsying and practicing your Miss America wave. Seriously, ask Amy to show you the wave next time you're in the shop. As she informed the girls, it could come in handy "should you find yourself on a parade float one day."

Then we mingled (a fancy word for the chaos that ensued as over 75 kids got in line for snacks) and ate petit fours and sipped sparkling juice. Everyone had a fantastic time. It was my favorite Valentine's Day ever. I'm already thinking ahead to next year. But what to wear?....

--Krista

Book-Group-A-Palooza

2009-03-03T14:52:00.008-05:00

Not to brag about myself (or my beloved book group) but as a primarily children's bookstore we all find it a little ironic that one of our most popular book groups isn't for kids or for people with kids. The Catch-All Book Group is for "post-college, pre-baby twentysomethings." Really, though, we've had college students and thirtysomethings and I'm sure it won't be long before there are babies as well. And no, that's not my way of confessing to the blogging world that I'm pregnant.

Anyway, all of our book groups provide a forum for book lovers to read something new and to discuss with others, and we love picking the books, organizing the meeting times and facilitating the discussions. But if you don't fit into any of our categories or if you already have your own group, fledgling or established, we still want to contribute to your book club experience. There are a few ways we do this. Your group can meet here at the shop in our upstairs space--food and drinks are totally welcomed. You'll get 15% off your books if you order them with us, and we can also help make suggestions about future reads. So next time you don't feel like cleaning your house before (or after) your book group meets, give us a call and we'll put you on our calendar. We just need to know you're coming a few weeks in advance.

Now I hope I didn't jinx my book group attendance by bragging about it.

--Krista

2009-02-10T00:22:00.000-05:00

Al, our intrepid Guys Book Group leader, is very, very (very) excited that his favorite author, Christopher Moore, has a new book, Fool, out today. He got his hands on an advanced reader's copy, and has this review:

After taking on Christ’s missing years (Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Friend), and death (A Dirty Job), tackling the Bard must be a piece of cake for someone as talented as Christopher Moore. In Fool, Moore rewrites Shakespeare’s King Lear as it was meant to be written; namely as a comedy with lots of excessive shagging (I can say “shagging” in a kid’s book store blog, can’t I?).

The story is told from the point of view of Pocket, the king’s fool. In addition to having all the best one-liners, Pocket proves to be the wisest of the people in the story. While Moore maintains enough storyline so that the average person is able to tell he or she is reading a retelling of Lear, Moore, a tireless researcher, also borrows heavily from ten or so other Shakespearian plays, giddily throwing in characters or lines when the mood hits. It offers extra entertainment for Shakespearian experts. The rest of us will just enjoy reading a Shakespearian story we can understand.

Christopher Moore is one of the best comedic novelists writing today. This is not just because his books have depth, but also because his books are not mean spirited. One does not feel that Moore thinks he is above his characters. In fact, it feels like Moore is rooting for them. It is why Moore never received a hate letter about Lamb, and why many people have told him that A Dirty Job helped them cope with the death of a loved one. This time, he will probably get letters from high-schoolers telling him he helped them get through English class.

How great is it to live in Decatur???

2009-02-07T11:56:00.005-05:00

Leon's Full Service, brought to you by our neighbors at the Brick Store Pub, opens on Monday. With the ingenuity of Daren Wang, executive director of the great Decatur Book Festival, the right to the first pint (and the naming rights to a custom drink) were auctioned off on Ebay. All proceeds will go to the Trackside Tavern/5th Earl employee fund to help out the workers who lost their jobs due to the recent fire.

The winning bid: $2,650.00!!! I guarantee that it wasn't me, but our thanks go out to this individual's generosity. I'll be sure to try his or her drink, particularly if it contains beer.

Daren, Little Shop should have tried this last year after our move. We could have auctioned off the naming rights to a book. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Daren Wang.
Where the Daren Things Are. Goodnight Wang. Think of the possibilities!

Decatur: part New York, part Mayberry.

Update! Very special thanks go out to Shelby and Marc Brennan and Marshall Davis, owners of Oakhurst's Universal Joint & Steinbeck's (among other places), who won the right to the first pint. For the record, it was a Terrapin India Brown Ale. So, the owners of one pub donated money to help the employees of another pub by buying a beer at yet another pub.

Girl Squad!

2009-02-05T10:20:00.008-05:00

Despite the frigid weather, my mind has been on the sweltering days of summer for the past week because we've been planning our summer camps here at Little Shop. We've just started taking applications and I couldn't be more excited because I'm leading my most favorite camp of all, Goody for Girls! camp. Goody for Girls! is a week of celebrating what girls can do and be. We learn how to be spies. We paint our toenails. We visit different working women in the community and talk about what we want to be when we grow up. We make skirts and write in journals and weave bracelets and play games and run around and basically have the best week ever!

Last year (and I'm sure this year will be the same)all the girls were unique and fun and fabulous in their own way, just like all girls are. And so, being the kind of girl who spends a significant amount of time daydreaming, I starting putting together a mental list of book characters, new and classic, who I would want to be in my camp. Think of it as the ultimate Girl Scout Troop.

I'll start my list with Allie Finkle, one of my new favorite girls on the block. Allie, resident animal activist and fashionista (check out those boots!), is tough, spunky and would keep everyone savvy with her handy notebook where she records her Rules for Girls. Here's some wisdom she could share with the rest of the campers: Don't stick a spatula down your best friend's throat. If someone is yelling from excitement, the polite thing to do is yell back. Pretend like you don't care when someone is insulting you, and don't cry. That way, you win. You should only say nice things to your friends, even if they're not true.

Another girl with a handy notebook (assuming it doesn't fall into the wrong hands) is Harriet the Spy. I want Harriet in my camp because she's not afraid to be honest, she's an avid writer, and she'd be awesome at any spy-related scavenger hunt or mystery we'd have to solve. And, if the other girls did find some nasty things written about them in Harriet's notebook, it would be a great time to learn about conflict management. Maybe she could learn a thing or two from Allie.

Clementine is next on my roster. Even though we might have to guard our heads from her scissors-happy hands, Clementine would be a perfect addition to Goody for Girls! Camp with her offbeat humor, big heart and resourceful creativity. No matter what kind of mess she gets in, she always finds a way to fix things. Even if it's not the most conventional way.

What kind of girl's camp would be complete without Ramona Quimby? She may be a bit of a pest, but the girl's got spunk and I'm not averse to having some feisty females in my camp. Like all the others, she's fun and she means well, and that goes along way. Plus, I'd take her over Junie B. Jones any day.

The previously mentioned girls have a tendency to cause some trouble, so my next pick is one who I know would be a breeze to handle. Sunny Holiday has a bit of a rough home life, but her love for her friends and family and her ability to dream big makes her the most optimistic character I've seen in years. Plus, this girl loves to dance, so she'd be the one starting up games of Little Sally Walker or stealing the show with a song/dance combo during Karaoke time.

Other girls who would definitely be in Goody for Girls! Camp: Scout from To Kill A Mockingbird, any of the Penderwick sisters, Hermione (pre-Hogwarts so she'd meet the age requirement), Pippi Longstockings, Annabeth from Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Fanny, Ladybug Girl...Oh my goodness. Camp is filling up so quickly! And the list could go on and on. I better stop and leave some room for the real girls to sign up.

--Krista Gilliam

Diane's New Favorite Picture Book

2009-02-02T18:30:00.003-05:00

Here's the funny thing. I don't even like cats. But it seems that all my favorite picture books- Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes, Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner, and now Posy- are about kitties!

Can I have just a moment of your time to GUSH about Posy, written by Linda Newbery and illustrated by Catherine Rayner?

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

The watercolor, pen, and ink drawings are the perfect complement to a wonderful little rhyming story of a curious kitty's adventurous day.

Favorite page: Posy gets caught up in a deliciously pink ball of yarn.

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

Jeff Kinney

2009-02-02T13:59:00.002-05:00

In case you haven't heard, Jeff Kinney, the author of all those Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, is coming to Decatur next week. Jeff will be at the Decatur Recreation Center on Wednesday, February 11th, at 4:30 p.m. Doors open a half hour earlier.

We'll have copies of each of his books for sale. This should be a great event. Come early!

Greg Mortenson

2009-02-02T13:45:00.002-05:00

We are grateful to have had the opportunity to host, along with Agnes Scott College, Greg Mortenson last week. Despite the rain, about 1,000 people showed up to hear Greg speak, and people stood in line for close to three hours to have him autograph books and to shake his hand.

Greg came to Decatur between stops in Miami and Washington (where he spent time with Michelle Obama and the Obama children). Despite his hectic schedule and very little sleep, he was incredibly generous with his time.

Three Cups of Tea: Young Readers Edition debuted at the top of the New York Times best sellers list for children's paperback books this week. Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea came in at #2 for its first week on the picture book list.

We have a few signed copies of the Young Readers Edition for sale in the store. It is very well written and is appropriate for children around the 4th grade level on up. The book Listen to the Wind sold out. We'll get more in, but right now even the publisher is temporarily out of stock.

Thanks, Greg, for including us on your schedule.