Review: Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race by Chris Grabenstein

Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race

(Mr. Lemoncello’s Library #3)

By Chris Grabenstein

October 10, 2017

Random House BFYR

Source: finished copy from publisher

Read my reviews of Book 1 and Book 2

#1 New York Times bestselling author Chris Grabenstein is back with the third fantastically fun, puzzle-packed MR. LEMONCELLO adventure!

On your marks. Get set. Lemon, cello, GO!

Everyone's favorite game maker, Mr. Lemoncello, is testing out his new FABULOUS FACT-FINDING FRENZY game! If Kyle can make it through the first round, he and the other lucky finalists will go on a great race--by bicycle, bookmobile, and even Mr. Lemoncello's corporate banana jet!--to find fascinating facts about famous Americans. The first to bring their facts back to the library will win spectacular prizes! But when a few surprising "facts" surface about Mr. Lemoncello, it might be GO TO JAIL and LOSE A TURN all at once! Could Kyle's hero be a fraud? It's winner take all, so Kyle and the other kids will have to dig deep to find out the truth before the GAME is OVER for Mr. Lemoncello and his entire fantastic empire!

Filled with brand-new puzzles and games (including a hidden bonus puzzle!), this fast-paced read will have gamers and readers alike racing to the finish line because, like Mr. Lemoncello's commercials say, IS IT FUN? . . . HELLO! IT'S A LEMONCELLO!

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The great and kooky Mr. Lemoncello is back with a brand new game- the Fabulous Fact-Finding Frenzy...and this game has Kyle, his friends, other young competitors on the search for great facts about some great historical figures. This time though, the game takes Kyle and the other contestants outside of the awesome Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and across town and even across the country! The kids use bookmobiles, old-timey bicycles, and even a banana jet to find their facts and hopefully win the amazing grand prize. But when some not-so-nice facts about Mr. Lemoncello begin to circulate it’s up to Kyle and his pals to uncover the truth and save their beloved library and benefactor!

Okay, so I have to admit something...when this book arrived in the mail and I opened it, I squealed! I literally, for reals squealed with excitement...that’s how much I love this series! And I’m happy to report that book three, Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race does not disappoint and lives up to its predecessors, Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library (Mr. Lemocello’s Library #1) and Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics (Mr. Lemoncello’s Library #2).

Author Chris Grabenstein once again spins a fantastically fun, wondrously whimsical, and crazy clever middle-grade story just bursting with laughs, excitement, mystery, and booknerd goodness! Absolutely pitch-perfect and unputdownable, Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race will enthrall young and older readers alike with its fast-pace, captivating puzzles, and endearing wit. Like in books one and two, all things wacky, zany, kooky, and delightful collide in Mr. Lemoncello’s Library (and in the quirky man himself) to create an unforgettable setting that is part circus, amusement park, interactive museum, and Hogwarts all rolled into one epic place where books, authors, librarians, and readers are celebrated and beloved. Fans of the series will love the new features added to the library in book three (they are SO awesome!). Plus, in book three, Kyle and readers get to explore Mr. Lemoncello’s bewitching home and Mr. Lemoncello’s Imagination Factory in NYC.

Young readers will have a blast joining Kyle and his friends while they compete in the Fabulous Fact-Finding Frenzy, solving tricky puzzles and putting their noodles to work (but in a super fun way!), and will easily get caught up in the dastardly mystery of who is out to destroy Mr. Lemoncello. Kyle, his friends (like Akimi, Sierra, and Miguel), and of course the magnificent Mr. Lemoncello himself, remain some of my absolute favorite middle-grade characters, and I really enjoyed getting to know some of the new characters (like Abia) in book three.

With its marvelous storytelling, engaging characters, and awesome settings Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race, like the others in this series, is pure book magic! I can’t recommend this entire series enough for middle-grade readers, especially reluctant readers.

MY RATING

5/5 Cupcakes

Chris Grabenstein is an award-winning author of books for children and adults, a playwright, screenwriter, and former advertising executive and improvisational comedian.

Winner of two Anthony and three Agatha Awards, he is also the co-author with James Patterson of The New York Times bestseller I FUNNY.

A former writer for Jim Henson's Muppets and past president of the New York Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America, Chris co-wrote the screenplay for the CBS-TV movie, The Christmas Gift, starring John Denver.

He lives in New York City with his wife, three cats, and a rescue dog named Fred, who starred in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Broadway. You can visit Chris (and Fred) a twww.ChrisGrabenstein.com

website * goodreads * twitter * facebook

Remember Me Always Spotlight Blog Tour (giveaway)

Remember Me Always

by Renee Collins

Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: October 3, 2017

Shelby is nervous to start her senior year after spending the whole summer away from home. After all, it’s hard to be carefree when you’re trying to protect a secret.

Shelby was in a devastating car accident, and everyone in town thinks that she was undergoing more physical therapy in Denver.  Instead, Shelby’s mother enrolled her in a clinical program to stop the panic attacks that started after the crash. The treatment erased Shelby’s memory of the accident, but she can’t help feeling as if a piece of herself is missing, that the treatment took more than the doctors claimed.

So when Shelby starts hallucinating a boy with dark and mysterious eyes, she knows it must be a side-effect of the clinical program. Except you can’t kiss hallucinations. And this boy insists that they know each other and are in love…

Amazon / B&N / Book Depository / Indiebound / Goodreads

Renee Collins grew up in Hawaii, where she played Lady Capulet in her high school production of Romeo and Juliet. In college, she decided to abandon her dreams of being a famous actress to study history and become a writer, but she’ll always have a soft spot in her heart for drama kids. Renee currently lives in Colorado with her family.

Visit her at http://reneecollinsauthor.com/

(this is a tour wide giveaway)

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Open to legal residents of USA who are 18 years or older. Giveaway begins August 14^th and ends at September 1^st. Enter the Giveaway during the Promotion Period online by submitting the entry form. The entry form can be found on the following website at. Winner will be selected by Random.org and be notified by email. Winner has 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. 3 winner(s) will receive 1 finished copy of Remember Me Always (approximate retail value or "ARV": $15.99US). By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to Sourcebooks. Sourcebooks does not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of this giveaway. (Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads) are in no way associated with this giveaway.

How To Catch A Monster Spotlight Tour (giveaway)

The How To Catch A Monster Spotlight Tour is stopping by today with a giveaway...

How to Catch a Monster

by Adam Wallace & Andy Elkerton

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

September 5, 2017

A USA Today Bestseller!

From the creators of the New York Times bestselling How to Catch a Leprechaun and How to Catch an Elf!

There's a monster in my closet,

with claws, and teeth, and hair,

and tonight, I'm going to scare him!

He lives just right through there...

Get ready to laugh as a young ninja heads into the closet to meet the monster that’s been so scary night after night! But what if things aren’t what they seem and our monster isn’t scary at all? What if our ninja hero is about to make a friend of strangest sort?

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Adam Wallace is a children’s writer and cartoonist living in Australia. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling How to Catch series and Only You Can Save Christmas.

Andy Elkerton is a children’s book illustrator based in the United Kingdom.

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