My third stop on the Bookstore Blog Tour was to Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, GA. My bookstore buddy Steen and I braved the frigid temps to explore Decatur “where it’s greater”, which has become a trendy fun little area of Atlanta with tons of cute shops and yummy food- but, we were on a mission.
I was so excited to be visiting this adorable bookstore because I knew they catered to children and I absolutely LOVE the store name. Little Shop of Stories has been open since 2005 and is owned by co-owners Dave and Diana. Also to note, they are right next door to a popular coffee shop so you can sip a latte while you browse. Two thumbs up.
Sure enough, I was welcomed with a gorgeous wall of picture books and beautifully displayed Christmas themed books and gifts. I noticed right away that they had huge framed illustrations with author signatures bordering the ceilings (including a blank one with BIG signature from B.J. Novak. HA!) They had some pretty impressive names and Justin, the manager told us that they had just hosted Oliver Jeffers!
At the back of the store there was even a dedicated section of board books which I think is pretty cool because board books are the super fun introductory for little minds and hands and I think they deserve their own space. And just when I thought the kiddie fun was over- I saw the wall. It was Platform 9 3/4! I had to go through the wall to see where it led me…
It was the Great Green Room from the classic Goodnight Moon! Seriously, this was my most favorite part of the store. It looked exactly like the illustrations from Margaret Wise Brown’s most famous bedtime story. There was a red balloon… and a picture of a cow jumping over the moon. And three little bears sitting on chairs. There was even a comb and brush and a bowl full of mush! And an adorable curly head boy whispering “hush”. Kidding. But he was really stinkin’ cute. I mean- what an amazing idea! We were told that this creative space was co-owner Dave’s idea and just one of his (many) fun projects.
When I finally decided to leave the green room (sniff,sniff) I found the middle grade and young adult books. They do have a small selection of adult titles in case you want something boring to read. Totally kidding. Actually because their adult section is small it is also very curated so you’ll be sure to find a great book. If you look closely at the shelves you’ll notice little cards sticking out of different spaces. These are handwritten “reviews” done by the employees on a weekly basis. What a fun way to highlight a book! I’m always wanting a good recommendation.
We asked about the loft area above and Justin told us it was extra space for author visits, book clubs, summer camps and even birthday parties! (side note: if you are a kid and celebrate your birthday at a bookstore, YOU ARE OFF THE CHARTS COOL!) Justin let us go up there and check it out and we got to see an awesome view of the store including this floor mosaic made completely of pennies! Another cool idea from Dave. (He plans on covering the entire concrete floor.)
I snagged a present for my littlest one and the bag they put it in featured first lines from famous novels. How fun is that? On our way out there was an entire wall of books about kindness, which is the theme of my picture book The Yucky Words, available August 2018. I couldn’t help but envision it on the shelf, because I know that the kindness revolution will continue on into 2018.
I was very impressed with Little Shop of Stories in Decatur. I couldn’t wait to get home and show my kids the pictures. Of course they were instantly mad at me for not taking them, so it looks like we’ll be back soon for them to walk through Platform 9 3/4 and read in the great green room, while mommy sips her latte and inhales the best smell on earth: Books.
Next time I’ll be sure to leave enough time to visit some of the yummy places to get a sweet treat nearby like Cakes and Ale or Jeni’s Ice Cream. Until our next stop…
Be yummy!
-Bonnie
