Rakestraw Books presents James Ponti with Mae Respicio

Rakestraw Books is delighted to invite kids and families to come meet beloved children’s author James Ponti at a special event on Wednesday, 9 September 2026 at 7 PM. Ponti is visiting as we celebrate the publication of book three in the “Sherlock Society” series: Art Attack. During this visit he will be joined in conversation by Mae Respicio, the author of Isabel in Bloom.

The Sherlock Society goes undercover in the Miami street art scene to find an anonymous graffiti artist in this third book in the hilarious, New York Times bestselling “Sherlock Society” middle grade series from Edgar Award–winning author James Ponti! During their visit to Rakestraw Books, the authors will be discussing their books together and answering questions from the audience. There will be lots of time to have books signed as well.

To attend: This event is $5 (admits one person and includes a $5 discount on your purchase of any book by James Ponti). Please order tickets early (it’ll help us figure out the chairs!).

is the New York Times bestselling author of four middle grade book series: The Sherlock Society following a group of young detectives; City Spies, about an unlikely squad of kids from around the world who form an elite MI6 Spy Team; the Edgar Award–winning Framed! series, about a pair of tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, DC; and the Dead City trilogy, about a secret society that polices the undead living beneath Manhattan. His books have appeared on more than fifteen different state award lists, and he is the founder of a writers group known as the Renegades of Middle Grade. James is also an Emmy–nominated television writer and producer who has worked for many networks including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, History, and Spike TV, as well as NBC Sports. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida.