Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics

Title: Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics
Author: Chris Grabenstein
Series: Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, book 2
Major Themes: Libraries, Games, Puzzles, Ohio, Mysteries
Synopsis: When 32 12-year-olds from around the country converge on Alexandriaville, Ohio for the first-ever Library Olympics, things start to get very puzzling.

Last year, I bought (sight-unseen) Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library. One of my sons picked it up to read, and then asked me to read it aloud. Everyone loved it so much that he decided to buy the whole set. Almost as soon as the books arrived, another son chose Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics for me to read—and the whole way through it, all the children were begging me for another chapter. I’ll have to admit, the temptation to read ahead was about too much for even me, and there was a twist at the end that caught me totally by surprise!

After Kyle Keeley and several of his friends won the game of escaping from the library during the grand opening, and got to act in several commercials for Mr. Lemoncello’s games, there was an outcry from other people that it wasn’t fair for other children not to have the same opportunity! So, Mr. Lemoncello announced the first-ever library olympics. Children from all over the nation competed to join teams that would compete against each other in Alexandriaville, Ohio. 

The opening day of the Library Olympics came. All 32 contestants, along with their chaperones, were at the Olympic Village, ready to begin the games. Racing library carts, figuring out Dewey Decimal numbers, flying pterodactyls—a great variety of games awaited them. Who would win the ultimate championship and receive a free scholarship to the college of his or her choice? And then—it became obvious that someone was stealing books from the library. How could that mystery be solved before the games were over, and why was it happening, anyway? Who was trying to keep children from reading certain books?

We loved this book. There are several rebus puzzles throughout the story that were fun to try to solve, and the tension kept building and making us want to read more and more. We were all caught off guard at the end, with an unexpected solution to the mystery. Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics is a great book for children who love games and puzzles and books, or just a fun mystery.

WARNING: Chapter 33: Gee. Chapter 34: Dang.

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Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Spy on History: Mary Bowser and the Civil War Spy Ring The Warrior’s Challenge Spy on History: Anna Strong and the Revolutionary War Culper Spy Ring