The Trend Continues!

I recently blogged about the success that authors and illustrators who have recently visited Little Shop have had on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

Anna Dewdney was here for the 2010 Decatur Book Festival. We we given permission to sell Llama Llama Holiday Drama prior to its official release date. So now it has debuted at #1 on the New York Times list.

Lincoln Peirce was just here on Friday. Then, about as fast as you can say "Lincoln Peirce was just here on Friday," his Big Nate books showed up on the New York Times list for the first time, debuting at #4 for series books.

We have autographed copies of all of these books (except for Julie Andrews).

PETE'S ALIVE! ALIVE, I SAID!

(or view it on YouTube)

Pete dolls and books are also available at Little Shop of Stories.

Halloween Storytime

We had an awesome time last night at our annual Halloween Storytime! Thanks to everyone for coming out and for putting together such incredible costumes- we were super-impressed.

And Little Shop of Stories would like to extend an extra-big thank-you to Chef CouCou for volunteering her services and painting faces all evening. She did a fabulous job, and if anyone is looking for birthday party entertainment, contact her sous-Chef, Marilyn Ricci, at info@chefcoucou.com, for information.

Big Nate is Coming on Friday!

Actually, the author of the Big Nate books is coming.  Lincoln Peirce will be here to talk about his art and his writing and to sign some books, including the just released Big Nate Strikes Again.

For fans of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, Big Nate is great!  The style is similar (with more text), and the humor is fun and a bit irreverent.

Coming back to Little Shop to make the introductions is our own comics camp leader Justin!

This should be a very fun event.

Friday.  October 29th.  4 p.m.

Picture Book Authors and Illustrators Come To Little Shop - Score Big

Author Julie Andrews was scheduled to come to Little Shop on May 21st following the release of The Very Fairy Princess, but postponed her tour due to a family emergency.  The book, written by Ms. Andrews and her daughter, debuted at #5 on the New York Times Best Sellers List, and stayed around there for seven weeks until she came to Little Shop on July 9th.  Then Princess soared to #1!

Author Jamie Lee Curtis came to Little Shop on September 18th to read from her new book, My Mommy Hung the Moon.  Then it debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers List!

Author and illustrator Mo Willems came to Little Shop on October 7th to read from his new book, Knuffle Bunny Free.  Then it debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers List!

Robin Preiss Glasser, illustrator of Fancy Nancy and the Fabulous Fashion Boutique, came to Little Shop to do a read from her book on October 20th.  Then it debuted at #2 on the New York Times Best Sellers List!  (Knuffle Bunny was still at #1.)

I'm starting to notice a trend here.

Actually, each of these books are great and certainly would have found their way onto best sellers list without us.  But we're glad to help!

More than that, we're grateful to each of these authors and illustrators for visiting us.  It is always special.

Whew!

Robin signs a reader's cast....

All of us at Little Shop are recovering from back-to-back events this week. Both were held in-shop, but the similarities pretty much end there. On Wednesday evening, we welcomed the glamorous Robin Preiss Glassser, illustrator of the delightful Fancy Nancy books. Joining us were a hoard of little fans, dressed in glitter and feather boas (along with two Iron Men). The atmosphere was giddy and everyone was thrilled to meet Robin, who definitely dressed for the occasion.  Robin signed books, posed for pictures, and even added her signature to one admirer's hot pink arm cast.

A reader draws on Scott's arm.

In contrast, a more-serious, but equally entertaining crowd came out to meet Scott Westerfeld, author of Behemoth, the sequel to his steam-punked YA novel Leviathan. He talked with his devoted readers about the books, his other works (including the Uglies series) and some of the method behind his madness. The questions he fielded were pretty impressive. Along for the ride was Scott's wife Justine Larbalestier, also an author and recent editor of Zombies vs. Unicorns, an anthology to which Scott contributed along with some other excellent authors. Scott stuck around to sign a bunch of books, and although he didn't sign a cast, he allowed a reader to draw unicorn on his arm.

Thanks to everyone for coming out. Pictures from these events can be seen on our Flickr page. Make sure to come to our special Olivia reading this Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m., which will be attended by a special guest. (Hint - she wears a lot of red). We have more events lined up, so check back here often, or become our friend on Facebook.

Sign of the Times

This is now an official book category sign at a mega-chain that shall not be named. Ahh, I remember my first paranormal romance in high school....

Lost, unpublished Dr. Seuss manuscript found

Booktryst, an excellent literature blog, has some scanned pages from an unpublished manuscript by Dr. Seuss. The book, titled "So Many Sports" was in the genesis stage some 40 years ago, and then apparently cast aside. Then in 1983, it was brought back to his attention by an employee. It consists of 19 pages of doodles and notes, some written solely by Seuss, others by his assistants with Seuss' corrections and notes. Seuss responded to the inquiry about the book:

Re your enclosed manuscript, I do indeed remember it. And my critique now is as same as then. What, in my opinion, is wrong with this story is that...despite the greatness of Pete as a stellar athlete hero...the negative image of him flubbing and unable to catch any ball at all will make him a schnook. And I think the reader's reaction will be, 'What's the matter with this dope?'

He goes on to suggest that he might be wrong about it, but suggests that the assistant  send it to Harper and Row, who "do very good brat books" and have "several times made best sellers out of properties I have rejected."

A pretty fascinating look into the creative process and the mind of Theodore Geisel. Go check it out.

Mo Willems Brings Knuffle Bunny to Decatur

Pete the Cat's James Dean
gets Mo's signature

A huge crowd welcomed author and illustrator Mo Willems to the Decatur Library last night. He solemnly read from a selection of books. (Those of you who were lucky enough to be there know that I jest). He actually read We Are In A Book, one of the great books in the Elephant and Piggie series, with all of the animation of a Looney Tunes character. After answering a few questions, he read Knuffle Bunny Free, the latest and last of the beloved series, drawing laughs from everyone (and a few sentimental tears from the parents). Then he sent a huge Knuffle Bunny into the lobby to be hugged and mugged with the kids, and sat to sign a whole bunch of books. Among the signees were Pete the Cat's James Dean and Eric Litwin.

Thanks to everyone who attended last night. You were a great crowd. And thanks especially to Mo Willems for making it such a wonderful evening for all.

Next up: Fancy Nancy illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser on October 20 at 7 p.m. Check back for more information. You can also visit facebook.com/littleshopofstories to keep up to date on what's happening. Or if you are the tweeting type, follow our Twitter feed @lilshopostories

What's New!

When one is a talented and creative artist, interesting things can happen.

We have two new books in the store by Ian Falconer.  First is Olivia Goes to Venice featuring Ian's spunky pig, Olivia!  There is a wonderful sweetness in each of the Olivia books, along with a spontaneous nature that makes me look at Olivia's experiences through fresh eyes.  I LOVE Olivia.

On quite the other end of the spectrum, Ian has also provided illustrations for David Sedaris' new Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk.  This series of short fiction is something different for David; the protagonists are now chickens and storks and bears and rabbits (and squirrels and chipmunks).  I LOVE David Sedaris.