“In real life, it’s hard to be a hero. Bad things happen and you can’t
fix everything yourself. You need good friends and hope.”
Maddy, Bayou Magic
Bayou Magic is part of the Louisiana Girls Trilogy
Bayou Magic
It’s Maddy’s turn to have a bayou summer. At first she misses life back home in the city, but soon she grows to love everything about her new surroundings—the glimmering fireflies, the glorious landscape, and something else, deep within the water, that only Maddy sees. Could it be a mermaid? As her grandmother shares wisdom about sayings and signs, Maddy realizes she may be only the sibling to carry on her family’s magical legacy. And when a disastrous oil leak threatens the bayou, she knows she may also be the only one who can help. Does she have what it takes to be a hero?
A coming-of-age tale rich with folk magic, set in the wake of the Gulf oil spill, Bayou Magic celebrates hope, friendship, and family, and captures the wonder of life in the Deep South.
Featuring an entirely new cast and adventure, the latest installment of Ghostwriter dives into stories inspired by Bayou Magic, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Charlotte’s Web, and more!
Video
Honors
2018
Magnolia Book Award Shortlist
University of Southern Mississippi
2017-2018
South Carolina Book Award Nominee
South Carolina Association of School Librarians
2016
Top 10 Multicultural Fiction for Youth
Booklist Online
2015
We Need Diverse Books Educational Kit Selection
We Need Diverse Books
2015
LA Times Summer Read Selection: Middle Grade
Los Angeles Times
2015
Cybil’s Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Finalists
Cybil’s
2015
Teaching for Change’s Favorite Books: Middle School & Adult Fiction
Teaching for Change Books
2015
We Need Diverse Books End of the Year List
We Need Diverse Books
Praise
“Thank you for inspiring me and my students every day to stay avid readers and writers–individuals who challenge themselves and write about important, culturally relevant and diverse topics. You inspire me and so many students, and my students see themselves in your books, and I thank you so much for that.”
-Karly Deno, 5th grade teacher @ Kromrey Middle School
“Maddy is a brave and hopeful heroine, and the descriptions of the bayou are almost as magical as her legacy.”
School Library Journal
School Library Journal, Starred Review
Publishers Weekly
Views From The Tesseract
Press
Interviews on Bayou Magic
2015
Jewell Parker Rhodes’s “Bayou Magic” Explores Fantasy, Folklore, and Family Ties
School Library Journal
2015
Jewell Parker Rhodes: A Magical Summer in the Bayou
Bookpage
2015
Jewell Parker Rhodes: Living the Dream and Writing for Children: Children’s Institute 2015
Publisher’s Weekly
Order Bayou Magic
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Featuring an entirely new cast and adventure, the latest installment of Ghostwriter dives into stories inspired by Bayou Magic, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Charlotte's Web, and more!