Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library: The Graphic Novel

by Chris Grabenstein, Douglas Holgate (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Chris Grabenstein did the improbable with Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and earned comparables to Willy Wonka, and now that modern magic is adapted into a graphic novel with the incredible art of Douglas Holgate (Last Kids on Earth).

The BESTSELLING book is now a full color, fun packed GRAPHIC NOVEL!

The Lemoncello books have spent over 100 Weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List and are on 44 State Award Lists!

Find out if game loving Kyle Keeley can escape from what James Patterson calls "the coolest library in all the world" in this fun-filled graphic novel from the much-loved co-author of Treasure Hunters and the bestselling illustrator of Last Kids on Earth!

* "A worthy successor to . . . Willy Wonka." —Booklist, Starred Review

When Kyle learns that the world's most famous game maker, Luigi Lemoncello, has designed the town's new library and is having an invitation-only lock-in on opening night, he's determined to be there! But the tricky part isn't getting into the library—it's getting out. Because when morning comes, the doors stay locked. Kyle and the other kids must solve every clue and figure out every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route!

Now a full color graphic novel!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593484869
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	11/07/2023
Series:	Mr. Lemoncello Series
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	47,294
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

CHRIS GRABENSTEIN is the New York Times bestselling author of the Mr. Lemoncello, Smartest Kid in the Universe, Dog Squad, and Welcome to Wonderland series, as well as the coauthor of numerous page-turners with James Patterson and of Shine!, cowritten with Chris's wife, J.J. Grabenstein.

DOUGLAS HOLGATE is the illustrator of the bestselling Last Kids on Earth graphic novels and has illustrated books and comics for HarperCollins, Hachette, Image, Dynamite, Abrams, and more.

Editorial Reviews

PRAISE FOR THE SERIES:

A New York Times bestselling series
 
"Discover the coolest library in the world." —James Patterson
 
"Lots of action and quirky humor." —The Washington Post
 
★ "A worthy successor to the original madman puzzle-master himself, Willy Wonka." —Booklist, starred review
 
★ "A winner for readers and game-players alike." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
 
★ "A fun-filled, suspenseful intellectual puzzle." —Shelf Awareness, starred review
 
"Will have readers racing to pick up the next volume." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

11/01/2023

Gr 3–7—In honor of the 10th anniversary of the beloved novel, this graphic version does not disappoint. Holgate, of "The Last Kids on Earth" fame, is the perfect choice for this homage to libraries, books, and reading. The town of Alexandriaville has been without a library for 12 years. A new library is opening with a contest for 12-year-olds where 12 will be selected to spend the night in the library. Mr. Lemoncello, a famous game inventor and the library's benefactor, chooses the contestants. Five boys and seven girls of different races and backgrounds are each given a unique library card. The puzzles and games begin immediately, with no technology allowed except the library computers. A fun-filled night ends seemingly without a hitch. The next morning, however, across the street, the parents are being informed that their children can voluntarily participate in another more elaborate game where they must find an alternate exit from the library within 24 hours. The winners will become the stars of Mr. Lemoncello's holiday promotions. Competitors drop out, and alliances change. Literary references abound. Great use of the comics format to adeptly mimic time, space, and mood. VERDICT A first purchase whether or not you have the original. A crowd pleaser across grade levels and reading ability.—Elisabeth LeBris

School Library Journal

★ 2023-08-26
A biblio-brangle delighting young readers and their librarians for a decade has been seamlessly recast into graphic format.

The overall storyline remains the same: A group of seventh graders get an exclusive preview of a new town library built by gazillionaire game designer Luigi Lemoncello, during which they solve ingenious conundrums based on bookish clues while getting at least a sampling of library services and organization and (except for slimy, manipulative Charles Chiltington, that is) learning to share knowledge and work together. Along with cranking up the original escapade’s already lively pacing and incorporating its many actual book covers, rebuses, and other visual clues in his bright, crisply drawn panels, Holgate endows the setting’s spacious stacks, rooms, architectural details, and high-tech features with dazzling appeal. Better yet, his gangly, expressive figures not only glow with individual character but bring the cast’s racial and cultural diversity to the fore. Best of all, though some of the book talk had to go to make the dialogue fit, references to essential reading—from Maya Angelou to Pseudonymous Bosch, Treasure Island to Walter the Farting Dog—remain strewn throughout the games, solutions, dialogue, and backgrounds.

A sure pleaser for veteran fans of the series and likely to bring in a flush of new ones to boot. (Graphic mystery. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews