Hi Guys,
Phew! Lots of posts this week. Not sure that will be the norm, but not a bad thing either. This week I finished the sequel to Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein.
Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics takes place a few months after Kyle and his friends found their way out of Mr. Lemoncello’s wonky library. The whole crew has been on a high ever since. They’ve starred in Mr. Lemoncello commercials and have become the heroes of Alexandria. Every day has been a cake day for Kyle and his friends, but that is all about to change.
Letters have been pouring into the library from bibliophiles across the nation. Everyone wants a chance to prove that they are better then Kyle and his friends. SO… Mr. Lemoncello organizes the Library Olympics and invites teams from regions around the US to compete. Now Kyle and his friends must defend their title as champions. Can the home team take the gold or will they buckle under the pressure?
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again… these twelve years olds would put my twelve year old self to shame. Hell, they put my current adult self to shame! I know your “hot” dewy decimal numbers but I could not tell you the exact number for coffee. This books makes me want to memorize them all (an all but impossible task).
As a librarian, I appreciate that this book highlights a lot of library issues. Banned books, the future of libraries, technology, community outreach and more. Libraries are so much more than book repositories and I love that this book shows that to it’s readers. It was great seeing what potential libraries can have and how technology and books can thrive together.
It was a little harder to get into this one then the first one but the second half was fantastic. I did sort of miss the countdown/time limit of the first book, which set an exciting pace that kept me hooked. But we did get this fast pace, solve it or lose it puzzle at the end that pushed my rating from a 3.5 to 4 stars.
As always with Grabenstein, this was a fun read and inserts “smarts” into the book in a way that will keep kids entertained. Overall, a good read that will appeal to all types of kids.
That’s all for now!
-M-