Mother's Day!

Wow, we've been gone awhile because we've been so busy, what with opening and all. In fact, we've had a pantheon of authors visit us--but that's a story for next week!

Instead, let's talk Little Shop of Stories and two of the awesome mothers that make our wonderful bookstore possible.

First and foremost, of course, is the momma of the store--Diane. Diane knows her books inside and out. She's got an encyclopedic knowledge of kidslit, and when I first became aware of how incredibly broad and deep her knowledge is, I asked her if she had taught, or if she had worked in a bookstore. She said no.

I must have had a dopey, puzzled look on my face, because she just shrugged her shoulders matter-of-factly and said, "I'm a mom."

Above, I've sprinkled some of the books I've heard Diane cheer for: Kitten's First Full Moon by Keven Henkes, The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall, and Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.


Our other mother is Lynne, who moved to Decatur to be closer to her new granddaughter, Tessa. Lynne is most well known for her great storytimes. She runs the Tuesday morning (11am) storytime, which is very popular with the under-two crowd.

What's great about a Lynne storytime is how much enthusiasm she can put into a book. I can always bring my son (who's not quite two) because I know Lynne's readings will keep his attention.

I can think of two titles in particular that are great Lynne reads. First, she's the best reader ever for What Will Fat Cat Sit On? by Jan Thomas. When Lynne reads it, everybody terrified that the fat cat will sit on their favorite animal.

During poetry month, she liked to read Sandra Boynton's Barnyard Dance, and she got all the kids to stand up (or crawl around, depending) and dance to the words of the book. Sometimes upwards of ten or twelve little diapered hips were just shaking and jumping to the funny words and pictures of Sandra Boynton.

But that's Lynne for you. Her joy and fun are infectious; she makes you want to get up and dance!

So here's to these and other great Little Shop moms--We love you all and we wouldn't be anywhere without you! Have a wonderful mother's day!