#mr lemoncello's library

[book--brackets]

[yourfaveisanavatar]

Mr Lemoncello from Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library is jurgen leitner

mr lemoncello from escape from mr lemoncello’s library is jurgen leitner!

(jurgen leitner art by @jesterjamble )

[theboyatthebustop]

Would you believe me if I said all of these graphic novel adaptations (except for the whatever after one) came out in 2022?

[mollyhats]

If you liked The Mysterious Benedict Society, try...

Book rec post!

If you liked The Mysterious Benedict Society for...

...found family of kid spies, try

City Spies by James Ponti

Brooklyn, a hacker, is recruited into a family of orphans who handle missions for MI6 under the protective eye of the eccentric "Mother," an agent who started accidentally collecting orphans while searching for his own lost children. If you love TMBS for a bunch of kids (and peculiar adults) forming a tight-knit family against a background of espionage, this book is perfect for you!

...the world of Stonetown and it's slightly off-kilter worldbuilding, try

The Greenglass House by Kate Milford

Milo lives in a smuggler's hotel with his parents, but he expects a quiet family Christmas--until guests start piling in, each with their own secrets and hidden agendas. Milo and his new friend Meddy decide to investigate, using a TTRPG as their guide. The connection to TMBS is harder to pin down here, but there's a definite vibe. They feel like they could take place in the same world.

...the puzzles, riddles, and games, try

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

Before the grand opening of a new library, Kyle and several of his classmates are invited to a lock-in---but little do they know, they're in for a wild night of escape room puzzles that will require all of their gifts to solve. If you love the riddles and tricks of TMBS, as well as the ways the Society uses their different strengths to get through all kinds of puzzles, this is a great choice.

...a lonely kid passing strange trials to enter a new world and family, try

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Morrigan was cursed to die on her 12th birthday, but instead she's swept away to a magical world and offered a chance to participate in a series of trials to join the prestigious Wundrous Society and be safe from the curse. But there's so much she doesn't know, and the things she learns about this strange new world might pale in comparison to what she learns about herself. The trials she faces feel very similar to Mr. Benedict's, and there's plenty else to continue the comparison once we get past them (in either book): quirky mentors, lonely orphans, world-shaking plots, a strange school.

[fictional-library-tournament]

Prelims round 1, poll 13

Propaganda

Great Library of Zosma, Strange the Dreamer by Lainie Taylor:

None

Library of Alexandria, The Atlas series:

This is a freaking half-sentient all knowing wise library that got bullied by one half-insane drunk and depressed empath into giving him the information it was specifically supposed to withhold

What a pathetic mess of a Library

Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Cemetery of Forgotten Books series by Carlos Ruiz Zafón:

None

The Scholomance Library, A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik:

The library inside the Scholomance is so cool. It’s open to a void above, and is the safest place inside the entire school. The sections are mostly in the same place every time. But the shelves can stretch out and fill up with more books

Alexandriaville Public Library, Mr Lemoncello's Library series by Chris Grabenstein:

A Wonka-esque (minus the deadly traps) library renovated by a genius game designer. The middle grade book series involves kids who must solve reading related puzzles that are hidden throughout the library, including in their personalized library cards. All stacks have special hover machines to find the perfect book and a holographic librarian to help out.

[gaeapplehairline]

i was gonna make a funny quip but this line speaks for itself. This is derogatory.

[historyhermann]

From the pancreas to the game maker: 2024 wrap-up and looking forward to 2025

[image, showing popular posts] Hey everyone! This is my last post of 2023. I’d like to talk about what I’ve accomplished this year on this blog and look forward to the coming year. [1] I have continued to write about library classification, librarians of color, library stereotypes, library users, LGBTQ librarians, and much more, even more than I did in 2021 and 2022, and 2023. [talk more about…

[psychicthepsychic-daily]

the very next line is "impossible. keeley doesn't have a mind for me to play with." which i feel is very much something psychic would say about boyfriend

[graphicpolicy]

Chris Grabenstein’s Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library is now a graphic novel!

Chris Grabenstein’s Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library is now a graphic novel! #comics #comicbooks #graphicnovel

[the-real-sigrid-borg]

and other times it's getting annoyed that a fictional ten year old made a dumb decision

Reading middle grade mysteries is fun until you're like 'yes i did it... i solved a mystery intended for 10 year olds'

[book--brackets]

Summaries under the cut

Damar by Robin McKinley

This is the story of Corlath, golden-eyed king of the Free Hillfolk, son of the sons of the Lady Aerin.

And this is the story of Harry Crewe, the Homelander orphan girl who became Harimad-sol, King's Rider, and heir to the Blue Sword, Gonturan, that no woman had wielded since the Lady Aerin herself bore it into battle.

And this is the song of the kelar of the Hillfolk, the magic of the blood, the weaver of destinies...

The Railway Children by E. Nesbit

In this much-loved children's classic first published in 1906, the comfortable lives of three well-mannered siblings are greatly altered when, one evening, two men arrive at the house and take their father away. With the family's fortunes considerably reduced in his absence, the children and their mother are forced to live in a simple country cottage near a railway station. There the young trio—Roberta, Peter, and young Phyllis—befriend the porter and station master.

The youngsters' days are filled with adventure and excitement, including their successful attempt to avert a horrible train disaster; but the mysterious disappearance of their father continues to haunt them.

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Alone and lost—on the North Slope of Alaska

Miyax rebels against a home situation she finds intolerable. She runs away toward San Francisco, toward her pen pal, who calls her Julie. But soon Miyax is lost in the Alaskan wilderness, without food, without even a compass. Slowly she is accepted by a pack of Arctic wolves, and she comes to love them as though they were her brothers. With their help, and drawing on her father’s training, she struggles day by day to survive. In the process, she is forced to rethink her past, and to define for herself the traditional riches of Eskimo life: intelligence, fearlessness, and love.

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

The Penderwick sisters busily discover the summertime magic of Arundel estate’s sprawling gardens, treasure-filled attic, tame rabbits, and the cook who makes the best gingerbread in Massachusetts. Best of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel’s owner, the perfect companion for their adventures. Icy-hearted Mrs. Tifton is less pleased with the Penderwicks than Jeffrey, and warns the new friends to stay out of trouble. Is that any fun? For sure the summer will be unforgettable.

The Harper Hall of Pern by Anne McCaffrey

For centuries, the world of Pern has faced a destructive force known as Thread. But the number of magnificent dragons who have protected this world and the men and women who ride them are dwindling.

As fewer dragons ride the winds and destruction falls from the sky, Menolly has only one to sing, play, and weave the music that comes to her so easily—she wishes to become a Harper. But despite her great talents, her father believes that a young girl is unworthy of such a respected position and forbids her to pursue her dreams. So Menolly runs away, taking shelter in a cave by the sea. Miraculously, she happens upon nine fire lizards that could possibly save her world...and change her life forever.

Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch

Warning: this description has not been authorized by Pseudonymous Bosch.

As much as he'd love to sing the praises of his book (he is very vain), he wouldn't want you to hear about his brave 11-year old heroes, Cass and Max-Ernest. Or about how a mysterious box of vials, the Symphony of Smells, sends them on the trail of a magician who has vanished under strange (and stinky) circumstances. And he certainly wouldn't want you to know about the hair-raising adventures that follow and the nefarious villains they face. You see, not only is the name of this book secret, the story inside is, too. For it concerns a secret. A Big Secret.

Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

Kyle Keeley is the class clown, popular with most kids, (if not the teachers), and an ardent fan of all games: board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the building of the new town library.

Lucky Kyle wins a coveted spot to be one of the first 12 kids in the library for an overnight of fun, food, and lots and lots of games. But when morning comes, the doors remain locked. Kyle and the other winners must solve every clue and every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route. And the stakes are very high.

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

Caddie Woodlawn is a real adventurer. She'd rather hunt than sew and plow than bake, and tries to beat her brother's dares every chance she gets. Caddie is friends with Indians, who scare most of the neighbors -- neighbors who, like her mother and sisters, don't understand her at all.

Caddie is brave, and her story is special because it's based on the life and memories of Carol Ryrie Brink's grandmother, the real Caddie Woodlawn.

Pendragon by D. J. MacHale

BOBBY PENDRAGON is a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old boy. He has a family, a home, and even Marley, his beloved dog. But there is something very special about Bobby.

He is going to save the world.

And not just Earth as we know it. Bobby is slowly starting to realize that life in the cosmos isn't quite what he thought it was. And before he can object, he is swept off to an alternate dimension known as Denduron, a territory inhabited by strange beings, ruled by a magical tyrant, and plagued by dangerous revolution.

If Bobby wants to see his family again, he's going to have to accept his role as savior, and accept it wholeheartedly. Because, as he is about to discover, Denduron is only the beginning....

Goodnight Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian

The gruff and surly Mr Thomas Oakley is less than pleased when he is landed with a scrawny little city boy as a guest, but because it is compulsory that each villager takes in an evacuee he reluctantly agrees. It soon becomes obvious to Mister Tom that young Willie Beech is hiding something, and as the pair begin to form an unlikely bond and Willie grows in stature and in confidence he begins to forget the past. But when he has to return to war-torn London to face his mother again he retreats into his shy and awkward ways once more.

[intothestacks]

So, the escape room I made for the Grade 4s & 5s works like this (1/2):

Firstly, I made it cooperative instead of competitive, in honour of the book I’ve read for the past 2 years to the Grade 4s (Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein), which is kind of like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but set in a library with an escape-the-room game that turns out to be cooperative.

The story for the game is that, one day during library time, the lights go out, and when they come back on, the grownups are gone and they’re locked in the library. The landline doesn’t work, and neither does the computer, so they can’t call for help. But an unknown voice speaks from the intercom telling them that they must figure out who’s behind this if they want the grownups to return and the library to unlock.

There are 4 teams, each of which must follow clues that culminate in a clue that must be used with the final clues of the other teams to solve the final riddle, which is the name of who’s behind the library lock-in (the final clues are the letters L-O-K-I).

Each team has envelopes with a different symbol on it which in itself are technically clues to who’s behind what’s going on: 

a green sugar skull (to represent Loki’s daughter Hella, goddess of death)

a green snake eating its own tail (to represent Loki’s Monstrous Child Jörmungandr)

a blue wolf (to represent Loki’s Monstrous Child Fenrir the Great Wolf)

a brown symbol of an eight-legged horse (representing Loki’s horse-child Sleipnir).

Each envelope also has a number so they know the order to open the envelopes in.

The clues are all Viking-themed and lead them to different areas of the library. The first clue for each theme is centered around an object (a Mjollnir necklace, a pop-up card of a Viking ship, my cellphone, and a box that looks like a fake book).

Every team has one activity where they have to decipher something and the other clues are more like a scavenger hunt style. 

For example, the clue leading to the religion section requires them to put magnets that I printed pics of gems on them in the correct order in order to place the corresponding coloured letter magnets to spell out RELIGION.

The order of the gems is based on a list I provide them of the Nine Worlds of Norse mythology, with each world name shaded as the corresponding colour of a gem.

Two of the other interactive clues are rebuses, and the final interactive clue is the word “languages” written in Norse Runes (I provide them with a list of the Norse alphabet).

[dankthereader]

Here we are, my READING LIST 2024:

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The Rainbow Troops: A Novel by Andea Hirata (reread Eng ver)

Q & A by Vikas Swarup (I watched the film)

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (I read the Viet ver)

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

One Little Lie by Collen Coble

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

A Little History Of The World by E.H. Gombrich

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson

Mr. Lemoncello's Library Series by Chris Grabenstein (I read book 1 in Viet ver and I think it's pretty cool)

Minute Mage (try out book 1?)(havent read litrpg b4..)

The Prophet And The Idiot by Jonas Jonasson

The Devotion Of Suspect X by Higashino Keigo

Solomon's Perjury 1&2 by Miyabe Miyuki

The Librarians Series by Greg Cox (I like the show🥰)

I think that's enough, huh?

[baambastic]

Books:

Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing

Lost and Found

The Whipping Boy

Frindle

No Talking

The Report Card

Cam Jansen

The Hardy Boys

Magic Treehouse

Warriors

Wonder

Nancy Drew

Encyclopedia Brown

Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism

The Only Girl in School

The Secret Keepers

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

The Land of Stories

Serafina and the Black Cloak

The Candymakers

The Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase

Pi in the Sky

The Unwanteds

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

Fablehaven

Wings of Fire

Beyonders

Every Soul a Star

Crying Havoc

The Candy Shop War

Spirit Animals

Shadow Magic

Walk Two Moons

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Wonderstruck

Movies:

Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone

Mr. Peabody and Sherman

Astro Boy

How to Train Your Dragon

Kung Fu Panda

Justice League: The New Frontier

Turbo

Rango

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Mulan

Tarzan

Santa Paws

The Polar Express

Dolphin's Tail

Air Buddies

TV:

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Justice League: Unlimited

LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu

Pokémon

Mighty Med

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Spectacular Spider-Man

Spider-Man Unlimited

Avengers: Assemble

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Fairly Odd Parents

Rugrats

Scooby-Doo: Where Are You?

Transformers: Prime

The Magic Schoolbus

X-Men: Evolution

Wolverine and the X-Men

Iron Man: Armored Adventures

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

Johnny Test

Phineas and Ferb

Danny Phantom

Dinosaur Train

Backyardigans

Word World

Power Rangers

The Land Before Time

Godzilla: The Series

Wordgirl

Gadget Boy and Heather

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3/5

Book Blurb:

Only Murders in the Building meets Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library in this action-packed novel about a girl pulled into a mysterious treasure hunt at her new boarding school.

Ever since her mom passed away, twelve-year-old Megumi “Meg” Mizuno has been spiraling. After too many low grades and cut classes, she’s been expelled from school—apparently, everyone else has moved past her grief and expects the same from her. Her dad secures her a spot at the prestigious Leland Chase Academy, a boarding school in the middle-of-nowhere New York, called the Last Chance Academy by its student body. If Meg can’t make it work there, she’ll be forced to live with her horrible aunt.

At first, Leland Chase seems like an average, if very strict, boarding school, though Meg tentatively warms up to her roommate and some of their classmates. Then, one night, a mysterious envelope appears under her door, inviting Meg and her roommate to participate in a scavenger hunt. The only rules: don’t get caught by faculty or staff and no cheating. The grand prize? A luxury stay at a fancy resort in California. And after learning her dad has plans to sell their family home—with all its memories of Mom—Meg knows she has to win the competition and use the trip to convince Dad to stay.

Thanks to her mom, who taught her how to solve ciphers, Meg has a knack for puzzles she uses to get ahead in the hunt. But she quickly learns that her classmates seem to have their own sets of skills keeping them in the competition. And as they get deeper in the game, Meg and her fellow competitors realize the anonymous creator has their own agenda…and LCA isn’t quite what it seems.

Review:

A girl finds herself on a mysterious treasure hunt at her new boarding school as she solves clues and makes new friends. Megumi "Meg" Mizuno has been spiraling ever since her mother's death, and after the final straw, her father sends her to a fancy boarding school in the middle-of-nowhere New York as a last resort. Megumi is now a student of Leland Chase Academy, and if she can't make it work she'll be forced to live with her terrible aunt. Megumi is determined to turn it around and to make the best of it.... but then finds herself drawn into a treasure hunt when a mysterious envelope appears at her door. Megumi is invited to play the game with her fellow students and the winner gets to stay at a fancy resort in California and the only rule is: don't get caught. Megumi knows she shouldn't play or risk getting in trouble... but she loves solving puzzles, especially since her mother taught her.... and what's one more mystery? I think middle grade readers will have fun with this, while some of the puzzles and clues are easy, it's a fun read overall. Its the first book in a series and I appreciate that the main character is a POC character. Overall I would recommend it for middlegrade readers who love a bit of a puzzle.

Release Date: March 11, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Aladdin for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*