Sneak Peek: Sherlock Holmes Escape Room

poison in princeton

Tomorrow, our library is hosting an original Sherlock Holmes escape room on the Princeton University campus. Kids ages 9-14 will race the clock, solve puzzles, and uncover something Mr. Holmes has hidden from a nefarious group of businessmen.

The real challenge, however, is that Katie and I will be running 3 simultaneous escape rooms for 180 kids for 5 hours. That’s a whole other kind of puzzle

We’re not giving any clues away, but I did want to share something cool. Some of the puzzles involve actual period materials, like this copy of Popular Science from 1889, the book from 1850, and the photos and bird trade cards from the late 19th century!


We are delighted to report that the escape room was a rousing success! You’ll find all the details, puzzles, and final solution here.

Illuminating Underwear

illuminating underwear

In my 11 years of crafting for the Cotsen Children’s Library, I must admit this is a first. Glowing string light underwear. But wait! We can explain!

We read Creepy Pair of Underwear!, written by Aaron Reynolds, and illustrated by Peter Brown (Simon & Schuster, 2017). Shopping for underwear doesn’t usually lead to terrifying episodes with creepy green glowing undies. But in the case of Jasper Rabbit, it does. No matter how Jasper tries to hide, vanquish, or destroy them, his creepy underwear return time and time again. Finally, he buries them in a deep pit and they are gone for good. Except…that creepy greenish glow was actually rather comforting in the dark. Perhaps Jasper can find a way to make peace with his creepy underwear? What can one do with underwear that glows in the dark?

You’ll need:

  • 1 string of battery-operated LED string lights
  • White card stock
  • Scissors and tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating

For starters, we recommend using battery-operated string lights as opposed to plug-in lights. This avoids complications with that wild, unpredictable thing otherwise known as electricity. We found our string lights for $3 in the Dollar Spot section of Target. They were sporting little lanterns (which we removed and used on another project).

$3 string light lanternsTo make your illuminated underpants, cut underpants shapes from white card stock, then decorate with markers. Tape the underpants to the string lights, and let them glow!

creepy carrots underpants

Psst! Did you spot the Creepy Carrot on the underpants? They stalked our story time too!

FEAR: The Game Show

fear the game show

Fear is healthy right? It keeps us on our toes, gives us obstacles to overcome, and adds depth to our literary characters. Fear is there to be conquered! But, as this family photo of me suggests, some fears run mighty deep. For me, it’s clowns. Clowns…and green balloons shaped like the Loch Ness Monster.

We had a discussion about fear at Cotsen Critix, our literary society for 9-12 year-olds. And while bullies, lightning storms, and spiders were all addressed, we thought it would be interesting to see how well the kids knew their literary characters’ fears. To play the game, name the character, and then have your contestants try to name the fear.

Wilbur: Being made into bacon
Captain Hook: The crocodile
Mr. Tumnas: The White Witch
The Baudelaire Orphans: Count Olaf
Matilda: Ms. Trunchbull
Peter Rabbit: Mr. McGregor
Dorothy: Wicked Witch of the West
Sherlock Holmes: Professor Moriarity
Ron Weasley: Spiders
Harry Potter: Dementors
Neville Longbottom: Snape
Professor Lupin: Full moon
Hermoine Granger: Bad grades
The Borrowers: Being discovered
Mowgli: Shere Kahn
Mrs. Frisby: Dragon the Cat
Little Orphan Annie: Ms. Hannigan
Eragon: King Galbatorix
Black Beauty: Fire
Frodo: Sauron
Taran: The Horned King
Percy Jackson: Monsters…pick one!
Lyra: Mrs. Coulter
Chester: Bunnicula
Measle: Wrathmonks
Jemmy from the Streets: A hanging
Campers at Camp Green Lake: Lizards
Ralph S. Mouse: The vacuum cleaner
Matt Cruise: The ground
Claudia and Jamie Kincaid: Being discovered
Stuart Little’s family: The mouse hole
Ella Enchanted: Stepsisters’ orders
Ramona Quimby: Picture of the gorilla
The White Rabbit: Being late!