Pete's Back!

Pete the Cat dolls were so phenomenally great that the company that makes them sold out.  Before Christmas.

Who would have guessed?  Well, we would have, but they didn't ask.

At any rate, Pete's back and we have them in stock.

 Check out what Pete can do!

Borders in Bankruptcy

Borders announced this morning that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  They will be closing about 40% of their superstores, then attempt to continue operations.

Stores shutting down around here include those on Cobb Parkway, at Mall of Georgia, and in Austell, Kennesaw, and Suwanee.

There are some major publishers who are out major money.  Penguin ($41.1 million), Hachette ($36.9m), Simon & Schuster ($33.75m), Random House ($33.5m), HarperCollins ($25.8m), Macmillan ($11.4m), and Wiley ($11.2m) are among the biggest losers, as are many landlords.  Many communities in the U.S. will lose their only bookstore.  Thousands of book loving employees will be terminated.  People who owned shares in Borders now own worthless stock.  (Shares were trading at 22.84 cents at yesterday's close.)

On the other hand, Little Shop of Stories is open for business!

Big Weekend at Little Shop

We have two big events going on this weekend.  Both are free.  Hey, you can come to both!

Noel MacNeal

Saturday, February 12th

2 p.m.

Noel MacNeal, author of 10-Minute Puppets, will be here at Little Shop to show us how easy it is to put together a hand puppet in a hurry!

Noel has been a performer on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show for over twenty years, and has trained puppeteers all over the world.  For the past decade, Noel has been the spirit and voice of the gentle and lovable star of the Daytime Emmy Award-winning series Disney's Bear in the Big Blue House and the Disney Channel morning series Breakfast With Bear.

10-Minute Puppets is a super fun activity book.  Here's the publisher's description.  (I can't improve upon any blurb that compares a book to a Swiss Army knife!)

It's the Swiss Army knife of activity books: how to make puppets anywhere, in ten minutes or less, using everyday materials. Parents and kids can learn how to make 30 puppets using socks, paper bags, napkins, and the most important tools of all — your two hands.

10-Minute Puppets is filled with imaginative ideas, energy, and the pure, childlike pleasure of turning objects into characters. With full-color illustrations throughout, the book has step-by-step instructions for each puppet, pages of puppet parts and bodies to cut out and use, and tips on how to create a simple puppet theater. - Workman Press

Noel will do a presentation.  We'll all make our own puppets, and Noel will sign copies of his book.


Fancy Storytime

Sunday, February 13th

3 p.m. 

Ladies and gentlemen, you are cordially invited to enjoy the festivities as we partake of fancy snacks and learn how to be extra-fancy.  Remember -- and this is extremely important -- you MUST come fancy!  Even grownups.   Ball gowns, tuxedos, tiaras, top hats, gloves, boas, you name it.  Nothing, and I repeat, NOTHING is too fancy for this extraordinarily fancy event! We look forward exceedingly to the pleasure of your company.

This is, perhaps, our favorite event of the year.  Come fancy and find out why!

        

Dan Gutman visits Little Shop

On January 24, Author Dan Gutman stopped by the shop to talk about his new book, The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable. A great crowd showed up to ask him questions about his My Weird School series, and his other great books. We even had one reader drive down from Chattanooga! Thanks to all who came out, and to Dan for making it a wonderful event.

The Year of the Rabbit is off to a great start!

Thanks to everyone who came out for our Chinese New Year Storytime! We had an awesome time eating fortune cookies and making paper lanterns. Miss Sunny read stories to us about Chinese culture and bunnies, and helped us all figure out what animal we are on the Chinese calendar (Miss Sunny is a snake, and Miss Marcy is a monkey). And thanks especially to our very special guest, Lily the Bunny, who helped us celebrate the Year of the Rabbit! Everyone loved petting her and having pictures taken with her.