Name: An Evening with Philip Stead
Start: 2026-04-20T18:30:00-04:00
Location: Schuler Books

Calling all teachers, librarians, booksellers, and local book lovers! Join Philip Stead in our Grand Rapids event studio for a reading, presentation, and discussion as he celebrates the publication of his debut middle-grade novel, A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic.
This event will include light refreshments, a few rounds of kidlit trivia, and limited edition prints provided by the author!
Tickets:
Tickets are required for this event.
You will receive a confirmation email (from Humanitix) with your ticket immediately after purchasing. If you cannot find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder and any other email inboxes that you have before reaching out.
Please note that 1 ticket = 1 attendee. There are two exceptions to this policy: attendees with children younger than 10 and attendees with caregivers.
Books:
Your ticket purchase includes one copy of A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic, which attendees will receive at the event.
We love seeing who is planning to join us! Your RSVP helps us prepare to host you. You can RSVP here: https://events.humanitix.com/an-evening-with-philip-stead-sbgr
About the Book:
A plucky young goatkeeper sets out on a misadventurous rescue mission in this uproarious debut novel with premium hardcover features, perfect for fans of Kate DiCamillo and Lemony Snicket.
In a kingdom ruled by a capricious king, the castle rests on the backs of twenty-four goats, and the welfare of those goats rests on the back of a girl called Bernadette. So when one goat escapes, it’s up to her—with the help of a very forgetful wizard and a Boat That Does Not Grant Wishes—to bring it back safely.
Her task may be straightforward, but this book is anything but. Like a swirling herd of restless goats, the chapters are all out of order. The ending may prove to have been the beginning all along. All the while, the author of Bernadette’s saga—a character himself—hurries to write her a resolution, with very mixed results. And if you’re feeling lost, don’t worry; the story has twenty-four morals, of varying advisability, to edify you along the way.
Award-winning picture book author and illustrator Philip Stead makes a confident debut as a novelist in this laugh-out-loud, one-of-a-kind illustrated tale, chock-full of running gags, broken fourth walls, and underdog triumph.
Gilded edges, a velvet-touch jacket with foil accents and embossing, a foil-stamped cloth case and printed endpapers make A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic as thrilling to hold as it is to open, a perfect gift for any young reader.
About the Author:
PHILIP STEAD is the author of the Caldecott Medal–winning book A Sick Day for Amos McGee. With his wife, illustrator Erin Stead, he also created Bear Has a Story to Tell, Lenny & Lucy, and The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine, based on a previously-unpublished children’s story by Mark Twain. Philip has also written and illustrated his own books, including Hello, My Name Is Ruby; Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat; and A Home for Bird. Philip and Erin live in northern Michigan. Visit Philip online at philipstead.com.