A review by protoman21
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

5.0

I swear that Chris Grabenstein wrote this book specifically for me. I am a librarian who loves puzzles and games and has created several scavenger hunt/puzzle games for the kids who visit my library. I love children's books and have read most of the ones mentioned in this book. Not only was the idea for the story perfect for me, but the plotting and the pacing of the story was very well developed. The characters were interesting without being caricatures and the literary references were cleverly placed without being confusing for those not in the know. If I didn't already think that this story was customized for me, Grabenstein throws in a reference to Graeme Base's amazing picture/puzzle book The Eleventh Hour that I devoured when I was twelve years old. Comparisons to Willy Wonka are inevitable, and though Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library might not become the classic that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is, I enjoyed it just as much, and I especially appreciate the message to the next generation that libraries are still useful and reading will always be an adventure that you can never imagine.