Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians

by Brandon Sanderson, Hayley Lazo (Illustrator)

Overview

Experience the action-packed first book in #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson's laugh-out-loud middle-grade fantasy series like never before—Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians is now in paperback with all new covers!

AN ANCIENT RIVALRY REAWAKENS.

Everything I'd known about the world was a lie.

On my thirteenth birthday, I, Alcatraz Smedry (yes, I got named after a prison, don’t ask) received my inheritance: a bag of sand. And then I accidentally destroyed my foster parents’ kitchen. It’s not my fault, things just break around me, I swear!

I thought the sand was a joke until evil Librarians came to steal it. You’re probably thinking, “Librarians are nice people who recommend good books,” but that’s just what they want you to think! It turns out they’re actually a secret cult keeping the truth from you—a hidden world filled with magical eyeglasses, talking dinosaurs, and knights with crystal swords!

Or so my Grandpa Smedry claimed when he suddenly showed up to rescue me. So now I have to go with him to invade the local library and get that sand back, before it's used to conquer the world. And Grandpa says how I keep breaking things is actually an amazing talent. There’s no way that can all be true, right?

Will I ever make it back home alive?

"An excellent choice to read aloud to the whole family. Funny, exciting, and briskly paced." —NPR

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765378958
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/03/2022
Series:	Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians Series , #1
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	23,078
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	730L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 Months to 12 Years

About the Author

BRANDON SANDERSON is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Rithmatist and Steelheart, both of which were selected for the American Library Association's Teens' Top Ten list. He's also written many popular and award-winning books for adults. His middle grade series, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, is now available in deluxe editions.

Editorial Reviews

“This is an excellent choice to read aloud to the whole family. It's funny, exciting, and briskly paced. Best of all, the message it gives young readers is that a person's flaws-being late, breaking things, etc.-can sometimes turn into useful talents.” —Nancy Pearl on NPR'S Morning Edition

“A happily action-packed romp, with just the right amount of repartee between Alcatraz and his cantankerous teenage protector Bastille, and a cliffhanger ending that promises more of the same. Plus dinosaurs in tweed vests. Who could ask for more?” —Horn Book

“In this original, hysterical homage to fantasy literature, Sanderson's first novel for youth recalls the best in Artemis Fowl and A Series of Unfortunate Events.” —VOYA

From the Publisher

Gr 5–8—Alcatraz Smedry has been in and out of foster homes due to his proclivity to break just about anything he touches. He fears that he will have never have a true family. Enter his long lost grandfather who challenges everything the boy has ever known. All of a sudden Alcatraz is thrown into a world of evil librarians, talking dinosaurs, and glasses that give him the ability to see and do things he never thought possible. Alcatraz tells his own tale, often interrupting to clarify aspects of the story for listeners. The chatty tone works well in audio format, but there are times when the humor becomes repetitive and overdone. Despite this flaw, narrator Ramon de Ocampo's ability to combine a pinch of vulnerability with Alcatraz's surly sarcasm makes him a sympathetic if not completely likeable character. He also manages to juggle a variety of other voices both human and inhuman, including dinosaurs with scholarly British accents. Listeners who enjoyed Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" are sure to be big fans of Brandon Sanderson's tale (Scholastic, 2007) and will eagerly await the next adventure.—Shari Fesko, Southfield Public Library, MI

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