April 22, 2013
Librarians and English teachers will happily recommend this adventurous romp from Grabenstein (the Riley Mack books), which pays playful homage to books and libraries while engaging readers in a fast-paced competition involving research and reasoning skills. Twelve seventh-graders win a chance to spend an overnight lock-in previewing their town’s new public library—it’s a marvel of technological delights conceived by Luigi Lemoncello, the Willy Wonkalike founder of Mr. Lemoncello’s Imagination Factory, which is a source for every kind of game imaginable. During the lock-in the winners, who include game-lover Kyle Keeley and a group of multicultural classmates with a mix of aptitudes and interests, are offered a further challenge: “Find your way out of the library using only what’s in the library.” The winner will become spokesperson for the Imag-ination Factory. Book lovers will relish the lavish sprinkling of book titles and references while puzzle fans will enjoy figuring out the clues. A lighthearted parody of reality survival shows, the book reinvigorates the debate over the Dewey Decimal system and traditional library skills while celebrating teamwork, perseverance, and clever wits. Ages 9–12. Agent: Eric Myers, the Spieler Agency.
September 15, 2023
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)
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November 1, 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
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