Sunday, February 18, 2018

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, by Chris Grabenstein


Kyle Keeley and his family are obsessed with the board games of Luigi Lemoncello, a celebrity game designer and flamboyant billionaire.  When Kyle’s hometown announces the construction of a new library after 12 long years, the buzz turns into a frenzy when it’s revealed that Mr. Lemoncello has funded and designed the new building!  Kyle is among a handful of kids who’ve been hand-selected to receive the first library cards, and also to participate in an overnight lock-in adventure.  They’re allowed to use only their wits and the library’s resources to solve a number of clues, and the first person who makes it out of the building will receive the grand prize!

One of the great things about this particular book is the number of mysteries and puzzles included with the story.  Heavy readers will be tickled to see some of their favorite books included as clues, although I’d be impressed with any kid who’s actually read all the referenced texts!  What really makes this book, though, are the picture rebuses included as clues.  Reading this book is like being part of a madcap treasure hunt, and that means that you’re instantly sucked into the plot.  “Mr. Lemoncello’s Library” and its sequel are a matching pair of fast-paced, exciting and most importantly, fun books which deserve a spot on every kid’s bookshelf. 


Sunday, February 4, 2018

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, by Tom Angleberger


Dwight is a sixth-grader at McQuarrie Middle School, and even as kids go he’s far from normal.  As one of his most recent quirks he’s taken to carrying around a folded paper finger puppet of the great Jedi master, then offering his classmates sage advice through his best Yoda impersonation.  After the oracle’s wisdom pays off for a number of students, some kids begin to believe that Origami Yoda actually does have some kind of mystical connection to the Force.  As a fellow student starts a case log to document the chain of strange events, Origami Yoda is quickly put to his most challenging test…

One of my favorite parts of this book, aside from the hilarious story I mean, is the fact that it’s just so believably real.  Even though I’m long out of middle school, I know how easily boys of this age could become obsessed with such a simple phenomenon.  If a paper finger puppet could inspire so much hilarity, it would seem that the amount of story ideas found in any middle-school lunchroom is simply endless (much like the galaxies of Star Wars themselves!)