Tell us a little about about yourself and Little Shop of Stories.
SB: Hello! My name is Sunny Bowles, and I am the new co-owner at Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, GA. We are an independent children’s bookstore located right on the square downtown. We offer books and more for kids and the grown ups they become. We just celebrated our 20 year anniversary in July and are thrilled to be expanding into the vacant storefront next door to be adding more retail space and a cafe.
Why did you decide to open a bookstore?
SB: My co-owner Diane Capriola started the bookstore 20 years ago after she started her family and was spending so much of her day reading. She always loved children’s books and was looking for something new in her career. She realized that Decatur would be a fabulous home for a cute children’s bookstore as it was a thriving downtown retail district and a community that values education and books! 20 years later, Little Shop of Stories is thriving and an important part of the Decatur community.
What kind of reading trends do you see with your customers?
SB: Overall, the consensus in the industry is that reading is down. But we do not see that with our customers. Our customers continue to shop! For older readers, teens through adult, we are selling a lot of cozy fantasy, romance, and sci fi. For younger readers, we always have 8-12 year olds looking for the next big fantasy series. As far as picture books, the publishers continue to do a better and better job creating a wide range of diverse books by diverse authors. We are thrilled to see more and more representation of marginalized people and voices in picture books.
what other services and/or products do you provide for your customers?
SB: Little Shop of Stories is so much more than a bookstore! We of course sell tons of books, but we also host author signings, storytimes, summer camps, school bookfairs, after school D&D campaigns, community meetings, slumber parties and seasonal events that do not involve authors. We are so proud of the Little Shop of Stories Children’s Book Festival each spring. We have had such a wild range of events in the shop from a customer wedding, planned proposals, flash tattoos, costume contests, midnight dinner parties, and movie sing alongs. We have a SUPER creative staff, and we rely on them to come up with new and exciting events and camp ideas.
How do you see little shop of stories expanding in the next few years?
SB: We are expanding- literally. We are hoping that in the next few months, we will be a little bit bigger. We will be adding a cafe space as well as more retail. We all know that coffee and books are a natural pairing, so we are delighted to team up with Bellwood Coffee. As we plan our expansion, we will provide more sidelines for all ages from dress up and art supplies to cards and gifts. We hope that Little Shop of Stories continues to be a destination for young families and kids looking to find a new book or gift!
What do you think the future of indie bookstores will look like?
SB: We are hopeful for the future of indie bookstores! We have found over these many years that people still want to read physical books- especially children! We just continue to provide a welcoming space and knowledgeable staff. Although online retailers can provide product, they cannot provide the same experience you get when visiting Little Shop of Stories. We continue to remind our staff that they are the reason people shop with us, and relationships are SO important- individual personal relationships as well as community connections.
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Article originally Published in the Fall 2025 Issue: Global Reads