The Lancelot Closes at Five

by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Lisl Weil

When two girls secretly spend the night in a model home, they leave behind traces of their visit which involve the entire neighborhood in a mystery.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Friendship

120 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Marjorie Weinman Sharmat was an American children's writer. She wrote more than 130 books for children and teens and her books have been translated into several languages. They have won awards including Book of the Year by the Library of Congress or have become selections by the Literary Guild.
Perhaps Sharmat's most popular work features the child detective Nate the Great. He was inspired by and named after her father, who lived to see the first Nate book published. One story, Nate the Great Goes Undercover, was adapted as a made-for-TV movie that won the Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival Award. Sharmat's husband Mitchell Sharmat expanded Nate's storyline by creating Olivia Sharp, his cousin and fellow detective. Husband and wife wrote four Olivia Sharp books published 1989 to 1991. During the 1990s, their son Craig Sharmat (then in his thirties) wrote three Nate books with his mother. In the late 2010s, their other son Andrew Sharmat co-wrote the last two Nate books written while Marjorie Weinman Sharmat was alive. With Marjorie Weinman Sharmat's passing in 2019 Andrew has continued writing the series with Nate the Great and the Earth Day Robot (2021).
In the mid-1980s Sharmat wrote three books published in 1984 and 1985 under the pseudonym Wendy Andrews.
Sharmat also wrote the Sorority Sisters series, eight short novels published in 1986 and 1987. They are romantic fiction with a sense of humor. They are set in a California public high school (day school for ages 14 to 18, approximately).

Reviews

[Diane Ashour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story about two girls' adventure in trying to spend the night in a model home.

[Debyi Kucera (Book&BuJo) · Rating 3 out of 5]

We follow Abby and her new friend Hutch as they decide to spend the night in one of the model homes in their neighborhood. Loved it as a kid and it was still cute, though definitely written for younger audiences.
3.5 stars, 6.57 on CAWPILE

[Shanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abby and her friend decide to spend the night in a model home in their neighborhood, and shenanigans ensue. Quirky story of friendship.

[JKR · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written in a smart aleck tone which now seems as outdated as the word smart aleck itself.

[Jen Garuti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I read this as a kid, or a teacher read it to the class maybe. It seemed familiar. It's a cute fun book for kids.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this as child. I'm gonna read it to my son.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I probably would have liked this more as a younger reader.

[Jennifer L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this as a child. Still a fun read, but not as good as when I was growing up.