Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library gets 5 Stars

I found Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein to be a fun Willy Wonka type of book. The adventure/game the kids experience as they try to escape from the library and the mannerisms/quirkiness of Mr. Lemoncello is all very reminiscent of Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  

Book nerds aka kids that LOVE to read will love all of the book references through out the book.  Kids that love puzzles will love trying to solve the puzzles in this book.  There are even a few puzzles that characters don't solve, and the author says if you solve them to email him.  I love that he's inviting the reader to interact even more with the book.  How fun is that?!

Mystery readers will also love this book.  Honestly, I'm pretty sure this is a book for everyone.  I mean, one of the characters references their fun/game in the library to the Hunger Games.  She says, "It'll be like The Hunger Games but with lots of food and no bows or arrows."   It's just a book everyone can enjoy.  Plus, it is completely clean.   

I gave this book 5 out of 5 Stars b/c it has a great pace, fun story that sucks you in as a reader, you find yourself intrigued with the puzzles and you interact with the characters and book trying to solve the puzzles, there are relatable characters, and it's a book everyone (boys, girls, young and old) will enjoy.  Plus, the story takes place in a library and talks about how amazing libraries and reading is.  Of course I'm going to love that. I honestly thought it was an all around fun book, and it would make a fabulous Christmas gift (only $6 on Amazon). 

I often found myself wishing I could go to this library and play the board games the characters play which are all designed by Mr. Lemoncello.  The games sounds fun.   The library sounds fun.  The book is all around fun.  

Give it a read. 

Amazon had the following book review: 

"The world's most famous game maker, Luigi Lemoncello, has just designed a brand-new, state-of-the-art library in his hometown, and he's invited 12 lucky seventh graders to stay the night just before its grand opening. Avid gamer Kyle Keeley jumps at the chance to meet his idol and see a real live library. After the previous library's demolition, this is the first library this small town has had in 12 years. Kyle is elated when his essay is chosen, and he gets to be among the first to wander the halls of one of the most interactive libraries ever. Kyle and the other contestants have 24 hours to find a secret exit out of the building and win a spectacular prize, and when the doors shut, the games really begin. Love of literature is a must if you want to escape. Librarians will fall in love with Mr. Lemoncello's library. This title is filled to the brim with witty literary references, an education on the Dewey Decimal System, and zany word puzzles. Narrator Jesse Bernstein expertly brings to life each character from the whimsical Lemoncello to the pretentious bully Charles Chillington. Insatiable readers who pick up on all the references will adore this book, as will general puzzle and mystery enthusiasts. The antics are similar to Patrick Carman's Floors while the puzzles are relatable to Blue Balliet's Chasing Vermeer."

Happy reading!

As always, what did you think?  I LOVE to hear your thoughts.  

You Know You're a Literary Nerd When...

Today, I've come up with a little quiz/test to determine... 

How Much Of A Book Nerd You Are? 

Of the 15 below statements, how many can you say yes to? 

1.  You can never quickly and concisely answer the question, “What is your favorite book?”

2.  In your eyes, authors are rockstars and you know most everything about them; they are your favorite people to follow on Facebook or Twitter.  For example, you may have known that Roald Dahl was a British Spy and fighter pilot as well as an author.


3. You have chosen to stay home from a social event so you could read.


4.  You have laughed out loud in public b/c of a book you were reading.


5.  You love lending out your favorite book b/c everyone should read it, but you hate lending out your favorite book b/c you know you won’t see it again.


6.  You hate when movie adaptations miscast a character; it almost always ends up ruining the movie for you.


7.  You remember parts of a book better than you remember your own childhood.


8.  You become depressed after reading the last book in a series.

9.  Your loved ones know you are lying when you walk into a bookstore or library and say, “I’ll just be a second; I want to look real quick.”


10.  No one ever wants to help you move.


11.  You have dressed up like a book character for Halloween or for a book release.

12.  You have dressed up your child as a book character for Halloween or a book release.  Pets can count as well. 

13.  You have read a book/series so many times that you’ve lost count.

14.  However, you still cry or get scared at the same parts each and every time you read those beloved books.  For example, you cry when Dumbledore dies or when Charlotte from Charlotte's Web dies.

15.  You know and/or celebrate a book character's birthday? For example, Harry Potter’s birthday is on July 31st. 

If you said "yes" to...

13-15 statements:  

You are most definitely a book nerd and proud of it.

9-12 statements:  

You are a book nerd, but you don’t necessarily flaunt it.

4-8  statements:   

You like to read, but you are not a book nerd.  Probably a cool kid that reads.

0-3  statements:  

Do you even enjoy reading? 

Now let us be honest.  How many did you say Yes to? 

I am totally a 15.  There was one point in my life, way back in my public school K-12 grades that I would've been a 0; I most definitely did not enjoy reading.  Actually, I hated to read; reading was hard and absolutely no fun or enjoyment came from it.  

I haven't always been a full on score 15 book nerd.  For a good portion of time I was even in denial of my literary nerdiness and actually thought I was somewhat cool b/c of my love for sports.  

However, I have now come to accept that I am a book nerd.  At some point we all have to come to accept who we really are. :)  

With all of that said, I'm super excited for Harry Potter's bday next week.  I'm making a cake, chocolate with green writing on it of course, on Thursday and will be sharing Harry Potter book related recipes all week long.  

So exciting! 

So really, I'd love for you to comment (here or FB) and tell me what you got.