Category Archives: Announcements

The BiblioFiles Presents: Jewell Parker Rhodes

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Author Jewell Parker Rhodes with Ripley, Gurgi. Menlo Park, CA | Kirkpatrick Foundation

Just posted! A webcast and podcast with multiple award winning, and New York Times bestselling author Jewell Parker Rhodes.

Already an author of adults works, Rhodes penned Ninth Ward, her first novel for children, in 2010. This led to two additional books in her Louisiana Girls’ Trilogy: Sugar, and Bayou Magic. In 2017, her work shifted to more urban settings – New York City for Towers Falling, Chicago for Ghost Boys, and Boston for her newest novel, Black Brother, Black Brother.

Both beautiful and hard hitting, Rhodes’ books are about family connections, identity, racism, prejudice, violence, growth, pain, and hope. From a young girl fighting to survive Hurricane Katrina, to a 12 year-old ghost struggling to overcome his brutal shooting in Chicago, Rhodes writes with honesty and a powerful empathy. She is a truly gifted storyteller who takes us into the difficult lives of people, connects us to them through her words, and then invites us to carry that new understanding into the real world, and change it.

Rhodes’ books have won a Coretta Scott King Honor Award, an EB White Read-Aloud Award, a Walter Award, and have been New York Times bestsellers and Junior Library Guild selections. She holds a Master’s and a Doctor of Arts from Carnegie-Mellon and the Piper Endowed Chair at Arizona State University, where she also teaches writing and literature.

Follow this link to the BiblioFiles interview

Sneak Peek: A Dracula Escape Room

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sneak peek drac final

When an American heiress is kidnapped, her family hires your investigative team to find her. But the more you uncover, the odder and more supernatural the crime seems. Finally, it’s down to you, one room, and some very unusual clues…

This is a sneak peek at our Dracula escape room next month (you can see our previous escape rooms here and here). And we are going Gothic, as demonstrated by the mysterious bejeweled candelabra in the above photo. It’s also a little hint, too. Look closely…would you say that one of those candles is glowing with an unearthly light?

Full details of this fabulous escape room to come! If you are local and want your kids to give it a go (and they are between the ages of 9-13), you can register them here.

Katie Potter

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katie potterFlag down the Knight Bus and tap the butter beer…Katie’s in London! There she is at the official Platform 9 3/4 in King’s Cross Station. Her family also took a tour of London’s Quiddich…uh, I mean SOCCER stadium. Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal!

emirates stadiumKatie also caught up with another familiar Pop Goes the Page face…Ian! When last we saw Ian, he was departing for Azerbaijan on a Fulbright scholarship. Now he’s working on his second master’s degree at the University of London, specializing in the history of the book at the institute of English studies. Smartypants.

katie and ian in londonKatie also headed to her old stomping grounds in Belgium, where she snapped another famous literary character…Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy! Fans of the swoosh-haired journalist might enjoy this event we hosted a few years back.

tintin buildingSo Katie’s traversing Europe. I’m in the office, blogging. However, I’ve been assured some fine Belgium chocolate is coming my way. In the meantime, those who yearn for Diagon Alley are welcome to check out our regularly updated Harry Potter post containing all our wizarding projects, programs, and fun!