Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

This title is meant for younger readers--the protagonist is 12. I read it to prepare for an author visit at my daughter's school. I was told it was like Willy Wonka meets Night at the Museum. I have to say, that's a pretty good description. I'd add in The DaVinci Code, too. Alexandriaville is getting a brand-new, state-of-the-art public library after having no library for 12 years. To celebrate the opening, 12 12-year-olds are chosen from an essay contest to spend a night in the library and be the first to experience its amazing collection and exhibits. Kyle Keeley, an avid gamer, manages to earn a spot. Once they are inside, the children learn that they can simply spend a night in the library, or they can play a real-life game to win a fabulous prize. Once the game begins, players do their best to decode clues and find the escape from the library before time runs out or another player beats them to it. This book is incredibly fun and packed with hints for readers to solve along with the characters in the book. The library in the story is a dream, full of technological innovations that enhance rather than replace traditional library systems--you'll still find books and the Dewey Decimal System in here. I love how Grabenstein showed readers that libraries are as relevant as ever, especially when they evolve with technology to help users find what they need. There's also a hidden puzzle in the book for readers to solve. Those who do (and who email the author by December 31, 2013) can win a library of books for themselves and for the library collection of their choice! Like the characters in the book, I got my entry in at the 11th hour. :)

Two seconds later, Sierra Russell was floating in the air, drifting up and to the left. It was absolutely awesome. “The hover ladder must use advanced magnetic levitation technology,” said Miguel, seated at the desk to Kyle’s right. “Just like the maglev bullet trains in Japan.” “Cool,” mumbled Kyle. And for the first time in his life, Kyle Keeley wanted to checkout a library book more than anything in the world.  From – Escape From Mr. Lemoncello‘s Library The most famous game maker in the world, Luigi Lemoncello grew up in a small town. The most important thing in the town to him was the library. He learned so much there and that's when he came up with his first ideas on making games, when he was just a kid. But the town library had been demolished twelve years ago. So the children in the town who are twelve have never had the privilege and benefit of having a public library. So when he designs the new library - he has a contest. Twelve 12e year olds can win a place to be the first in the library and spend the night in a lock in - there'll be lots of fun - games and prizes. It's an essay contest and Kyle Keeley is one of the winners. The next day after the 12 kids spend the night in the library, Kyle and the others find out that the real game is to escape from the library. The winner will get spectacular prizes. Though this is a kids book it's great for adults too. They’re fun clues, zany word puzzles, and it all takes place in the most splendid library ever. . Everyone should read this book - it's so much fun. I loved Escape From Mr Lemoncello's Library. A wonderful book. I highly recommended it.

This was an altogether fun read! Don't hold the fact against him that Mr. Grabenstein used to write in James Patterson's book factory. We found this book to be an absolutely delightful, engaging read. Grabenstein is clearly big on libraries as centers of discovery, learning and community. Twelve twelve-year-olds, who have never been in a library due to their town's library being torn down twelve years ago, compete to go to the grand opening of Mr. Lemoncello's library. Once there, they find themselves locked in and are told that their goal is to use the library and all its resources to discover a hidden exit for a grand prize. Mr. Lemoncello is a great game-maker and some of the clues come from his games, while others come from the ten Dewey Decimal Rooms, a holographic librarian and holographic creatures, and pictograms hidden in books. Grabenstein cleverly reinforces the idea that reading is, itself, a rewarding activity, and those who take time to focus on the process are rewarded more than those who try to take short cuts. He also emphasizes such values as loyalty, team-work, and respect. Titles of many famous children's books are sprinkled throughout Mr. Lemoncello's conversations and the clues. There is also a puzzle not in the story that can be solved and sent into Mr. Grabenstein for a chance to win two libraries of books. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library is a fast read. Mr. Grabenstein also does a very good job of creating distinct characters. None of the kids feels like a carbon copy of the other; they're all fleshed out in ways that help you get a sense of what motivates them.

This book tells the story of an eccentric game designer's fabulous new library, and the twelve 12-year old children chosen to spend the night there. They're competing in a contest to see who can escape before time runs out, and the story's main focus is Kyle, a kid who loves games but not reading. He and his best friends all make it into the contest and are faced with a number of puzzles to solve as they compete against a rich bully, a whiny nerd and a snotty cheerleader. Yes, the comparison to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is obvious, and the book has the same sense of goofy fun, but because the setting is a library rather than a candy factory there is much more opportunity for referencing the deep well of children's literature, which can only enrich the story. And with funding for libraries decreasing it's nice to see a book that shows such an obvious love for the institution and its practitioners; the book is even dedicated to librarians and several are mentioned in the Acknowledgments. I love the plot and the setting and the intent of the book, but there are problems with the book too. I'd say the worst flaw is that the characters are rather cliched and not very deep. Maybe that's what the author wanted and maybe it's more enjoyable for middle schoolers, the intended audience, but I thought this was a missed opportunity to improve on Dahl's popular novel. For instance, there's a girl who reads ALL THE TIME, even skipping meals and conversation. She's the only kid who has no parent to see her off or greet her at the end of the adventure. Why? Where's her mom and dad? Is she antisocial or just incredibly into reading. It might have been better to have fewer kids but get to know them better, but then again perhaps this is unfair criticism -- and I admit it -- I have had the great misfortune of reading this as an adult. I bet if was twelve I'd absolutely adore it. It has books and a fantastical library and a scavenger hunt, even danger and mischief. I would recommend this to middle school readers. I would give it as a gift, and I will read the sequel. I just wish it had been a bit .. more. The puzzles were okay but repetitive, and the many references to children's books were too often superficial, on the level of puns. I have nothing against puns, and I'm sure lots of middle school readers want silly goofy puns, but again I think it's a missed opportunity to step it up a bit, and make it more entertaining to kids who've probably seen Dora the Explorer and Star Wars. Also problematic is that a lot of the cultural references were amazingly dated, and improbable points of reference for today's kids. I liked this book and loved the message. We even get a few lessons in the Dewey Decimal system, and what's not to love about that. Kyle gradually gets to like reading .. yay! There is also a bonus puzzle and a discussion with the author, and I appreciate the effort, though mention was made of a list of all the books referenced and I would have liked to have seen this but didn't. I'll look again.

After years of struggling to make Battle of the Books fun for my students and years of struggling with the regional coordinators on selecting better books, I decided to branch out and have my students do something different – something bold and new. Well sort of new. We are still called Book Detectives, but our club is centered around the Newbery Award. (The Newbery is the award given for the best writing in a children’s book. Click here for more info.) Sort of a Mock Newbery Club, but just a bit more. The first half of the year we are reading several books that are eligible for the Newbery. In January we will vote on the one we think should win. Now, thousand and thousands of children’s books are published each year. There is no way we could read every possible contender, but I believe we’ve picked some good ones. After the award is announced in January we will switch our focus to books that have already won the award. I’ll post more about that later. The first two books we picked to read were Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein and Rump: The True Story of Rumplestiltskin by Lisle Shurtlif. I absolutely love both books, but I have to admit that Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library holds a special place in my heart. Come on! IT TAKES PLACE IN A LIBRARY WITH AN AWESOME LIBRARIAN! (Please excuse the shouting, but I LOVE this book and so did my students.) Think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inside a library. This is a great book for avid and reluctant readers alike. If you like games and puzzles, this book is for you as well. Grabenstein catches the reader’s attention from the very beginning and doesn’t let go. Sometimes I’m afraid that the award committee goes out of their way to avoid a book that students might actually like (there have been excpetions – Holes and The One and Only Ivan - to name just a couple). So I’m really worried that the committee might snub this book. Even if it doesn’t snag the award, it has already captured the hearts of young readers (and a few older ones) everywhere. My Book Detectives were fortunate enough to Skype with Mr. Grabenstein during our last meeting. He is just as wonderful as his book. We all had a blast .He mentioned the possibility of a movie and a sequel. You should have seen the arm pumping and cheering when the Book Detectives heard that. I highly recommend that you not only add this book to your To Be Read list, but that you put it at the top of your list. Just don’t come looking for it in the AEES library – all the copies are checked out. Recommended for 4th Grade and Up. AR Book Level 4.5

I was highly entertained by this book. But I can understand why there are not so good feelings about it too. Well, the Library is not what we 'old folks' are used to. But times are changing and so are the reading skills as well. I guess just timing a youth up with a book and tell him/her to read, does not work out the way it used to. Mr. Lemoncello was an eager Library Visitor in his young years. Now that he has grown up and earned millions with his much beloved computergames, he spends his money in renovating the Library of his old hometown Alexandria. His intention is, to bring young gamers on to loving books as well. The very smart Librarian MRs. Dr. Zinchenko set up a game in which 12 Children do participate. The first one to find the way out of the Library (not the way they came in) in 12 hours time will win a price. I won't tell anymore about the game and the characters, but I will say, that I liked the references to classic and modern literature. And most of all it was enjoyable to read how the protagonist Kyle Keeley became fond of reading. Also nice to see, how the children did or did not help each other. I loved this book very much and will read the german version as well. It will be intresting to read which booktitles where chosen to make a sense out the Puzzles. And I think this will be THE BOOK to read to my grandson.

This book has a lot of puzzles in it, which the reader can try to solve before the characters do. Also, it keeps the reader in suspense, so they will not want to stop reading it! I would recommend this book to kids 8-12, and i rate this book 9999 out of 5 stars! P.S. I also like the author's note.

I loved this book! I am 10 years old so it is good for 10 year olds. It was so mysterious and I couldn't wait to see what was on the next page! It was so clever and intriguing. I would recommend this to J.K. Rowling lovers and Pseudonymous Bosch lovers! It was a page turner. A boy named Kyle and his friends get invited to the public library opening, but get trapped in and have to solve clever, hard puzzles to get out, if they get out in less then 72 hours, they get a special prize! There is a mean boy named Charles Chiltington who is a snob and sneaky. This book has twists, turns, and definitely laughs! It is great for 9-12 year olds. I got this on the kindle app on my iPad and it wasn't as good as a real paperback or hardcover book. But it was still very good. It is clever, amusing and a great read! If I were you, I would go out right now and buy Escape From Mr. LemonCello's Library!