Business & Tech

Decatur, Get Ready to Read

To kick off the citywide reading initiative, The Little Shop of Stories will hold a training session Wednesday for people who want to lead a discussion of "The Phantom Tollbooth."

A training class will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, for people who want to lead a book club discussion about “The Phantom Tollbooth,” the first selection for Decatur’s citywide training initiative.

The training will be held at , which is coordinating the reading initiative, On The Same Page.

Bookstore manager Krista Gilliam said many groups, including entire classes at some elementary schools, have embraced the idea of the reading initiative since the selection of “The Phantom Tollbooth” by Norton Juster .

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“We have some soccer teams that are going to read it,” she said.

The goal of the reading initiative is to “foster a community of readers by bringing families together around the same book,” according to the bookstore website.

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This is the 50th anniversary of the publication of the book, which tells the adventures of a bored boy named Milo who drives through a tollbooth one day and finds himself in a magical and mysterious land.

The Decatur Educational Foundation, the Decatur Rotary Club and the book festival are partners in the project with the bookstore.

Other important dates in the citywide reading project include:

Oct. 14, 6 p.m. A kids and companion book discussion led by author Terra McVoy. Open to kids 8-11 and the adult of their choice.

Oct. 25. The official Decatur Day of Reading and the release day for the 50th anniversary edition of the book. At 4 p.m. shop staff members will read their favorite chapters.

Oct. 27, 7 p.m. Screening of the 1970 movie “The Phantom Tollbooth” at . Chuck Jones, an animator who helped bring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck to life, directed the movie. It’s free.

Nov. 7, 7 p.m. The Little Shop of Stories adult group will discuss the book.

Nov. 17, 7 p.m. Little Shop discussion, debate and spelling bee.

Dec. 9, 7 p.m. Author Norton Juster will visit Decatur. Leonard Marcus, author of “The Annotated Phantom Tollbooth,” will interview Juster. The event will be held in Presser Hall at . It’s free and open to the public, but ticketed. Ticket information will be available closer to the event.

The store is located at 133A E. Court Square. For more information call 404-373-6300 or email info@weareonthesamepage.org


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