Christie sends in this pic of a cardboard sign in the window of the old Big H Center in Oakhurst that says “Echelberger Construction, 630 East Lake Dr, Family Dollar” next to a City of Decatur permit.  She also reported construction activity at the site today.

What makes a book a children’s book?

Once upon a time, everyone knew what a children’s book was.  Adults only read them if they had kids, and only until the kids were reading on their own.

Then came the Harry Potter books.  J.K. Rowling converted millions of adults into readers of books for kids.  The success of that series also caused publishers to rethink the definition of children’s fiction, directing more books with more pages, more complex plots, and darker content into the hands of younger readers.

The result has been an fascinating blurring of the lines.

“There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.” is the opening line of The Graveyard Book, in which most of an entire family is slaughtered in the first chapter.  For this, Neil Gaiman (who has written everything from picture books to graphic novels to superb adult fiction) was awarded the Newbery Medal for “distinguished contribution to American literature for children” in 2009.  Despite the initial gore, it is an amazingly excellent book.  Even for kids. Read the rest of this entry »

From CSD’s website…

• Decatur bills $17.9 million in taxes in first installment of 2012 [Decatur Tax Blog]
• Decatur receives preservation grant to write NRHP nomination of northeast neighborhood [Patch]
• Leon vs. Leon’s (aka London vs. Decatur) [AsianCajuns]
• Georgia city of Senoia will be main filming site in Walking Dead’s 3rd season [11Alive]
• Young Americans may be driving their parents crazy, but they aren’t driving cars as much [Atlantic Cities]

Photos courtesy of AsianCajuns