November Read - Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

[Kristen]

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library has been quietly making it's way up reading lists around the country. Could it be a future Newbery?

[Jenna]

As much as I loved this book on a personal level, it didn't feel very Newbery for me. I'd have to give it another read though to evaluate it from a more literary standpoint. I'm interested to hear other's thoughts.

[Becky]

I read this book this summer and knew I had to read it to my fifth graders this fall. They are loving it. We are enjoying figuring out the puzzles and keeping track of the clues. We also love all the book and library references. That being said, I'm not sure the "distinguishedness" is there. I know this is a book that kids are enjoying, and I highly recommend it, but I am not sure about Newbery. I wish I could say otherwise. I would love to have two winners in a row that kids love.

[Jess]

While the concept of this book is a ton of fun, and I think the puzzles will have a lot of appeal to kids who like that kind of thing, I didn't find much distinction in terms of characterization, plotting, or sentence-level writing. Fun, but not Newbery quality.

[Kim]

I loved it and we are reading it in my middle grade fantasy book club this month. The author is a great guy and sent me a link for a game we could hold at the library and apologized that he wasn't available for a Skype interview! The book is fun but I don't think it is what the Newbery is looking for.

[Mary HD]

Jess wrote: "While the concept of this book is a ton of fun, and I think the puzzles will have a lot of appeal to kids who like that kind of thing, I didn't find much distinction in terms of characterization, p..."

I agree with Jess. The plot (the game) and the world-building (the design of the library) were not as inventive as I hoped they would be; since this is a book celebrating libraries, I was expecting more.

[Jennifer]

While I found this to be an enjoyable read, I think the characterization threw me off enough that it detracted from the story for me. The majority, if not all, of the characters felt more like caricatures than anyone I could really be invested in.

[Laura]

The book is doing really well in NY. I definitely think it has a good chance at the Newbery.

[Jenni]

I love books about books and really enjoyed all of the literary references. The book was a fun read, but that was it for me. The characters were very two-dimensional and the ending was pretty predictable. I definitely can't see this book holding up over time, and would be surprised to see it named for the Newbery.

[Mari Anne]

I loved this book and feel like it was very similar in feel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The characters in that book are definitely stereotypical and that book has held up well. I would love to see this book won as it is my favorite so far.

[Martha]

"My" kids like this one as a fun read - they love to read, and this book felt familiar to them as it referenced their favorites. Newbery? not so much.

[Josephine]

I'm not quite finished but I know who's going to win. Definitely in my opinion, not Newbery. But I enjoyed reading it.

[Lisa]

What do you mean you know who's going to win?

[Josephine]

It just seems obvious.

[Laura]

I thought Wonder was an obvious win last year. You never can tell with the Newbery judges. I do believe The Thing About Luck is an extremely strong candidate for a win. I would go so far as saying it would would the gold.

[Diana]

really? I think the selections and finalist are fairly unpredictable considering the committee members change from year to year

[Cheryl]

Brand-new member here, haven't read the book yet.

So far, from discussion & description, it seems this book could be compared to The Westing Game, which did win the Newbery, and Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, an excellent adult novel.

Do any of you see any resemblances?

[Jen]

I couldn't even get half way through Thing About Luck. I decided not to purchase it for our school library. Like When You Reach Me...I don't think it would leave the shelf much. I could be proven wrong! I just finished Flora & Ulysses and thought it enjoyable, but not potentially Newbery Medal. Still working through my own personal top 20 list.

[Lily]

Jo wrote: "I'm not quite finished but I know who's going to win."

I think for that reason alone this one is not worthy of the Newbery. The lack of complex characters or plot doesn't make the book particularly distinguished.

That being said, I can still see kids really enjoying the book--figuring out the clues, picking books out from nearly every sentence Mr. Lemoncello makes, etc. If nothing else, it's still an entertaining read.

[Sara]

I found The Think About Luck to be wonderful and thought it to be well-deserving of its win of the National Book Award (it was awarded last night). NBA doesn't transfer to Newbery very often though.

Mr. Lemoncello... drove me nuts. The pacing was so frantic and Mr. Lemoncello is such an obvious Willy Wonka rip-off.

[Josephine]

This is a very cleverly written novel. I enjoyed the personalities of the characters and how they interacted. I found myself trying to make them into Willy Wonka characters: Haley Daley as Charlie Bucket and Charles Chiltington as Violet Bouregard. I will say the kids were incredibly bright and attentive to detail to figure out the clues. Me? I'd still be stuck inside to this day. But where better to be stuck. I wish I had jotted down as I read all the books Grabenstein referenced and alluded to. I'd like to see the compiled list. I guess that is the librarian's nature. I don't know if students would stick with the book. I would hope so because it got very exciting toward the end. Did anyone solve the authors challenge? I must contact Kyle. Smile...

[Amanda]

I really enjoyed this book (I read it in one sitting, which is rare for me these days), but Mr' Lemoncello's similarities to Willy Wonka were too blatant and bothered me. The characters seemed very flat to me. Kyle was too perfect of a hero and all-around good guy, while there were absolutely no redeeming qualities for Charles. He was villain through-and-through.
I also thought all the book and brand name dropping was excessive and will end up dating the book.
Despite all of these problems I had with the book, it was a fun mystery and I think kids would enjoy it.

[Kim]

I really enjoyed this book because of its clever plot and literary references. A bonus came when I tried to download the game for my middle school book club members to play and the author himself responded. He would have offered to Skype with us if he had known when our meeting was scheduled. I don't think the book will win the Newbery but you have to love an author who is so approachable to his audience! If any of you have the opportunity to play the game with some kids at a library I would love to hear how it went. I thought it was challenging but fun and I realized that I am awful at pictograms!!

[Cynthia]

I enjoyed ESCAPE FROM MR. LEMONCELLO'S LIBRARY. I'm reading it aloud to 5th graders right now and they love it. I hadn't previously considered it for Newbery, but with these posts, I'm looking at it with new eyes. What qualities does it have that match up to the criteria?

[Margaret]

I loved this book! It was such a whimsical and entertaining read. I love the intertwining of literature, adventure, and likeable characters. That being said I don't know if it was a Newbery book. It was so much fun to read but while the story had depth, the characters did not. Wish for just a little more character development, other than that the story was pitch perfect. Will recommend this to bunches of kids.