Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics

Gr 4–6—After receiving a million requests from fellow book lovers, billionaire game maker Luigi Lemoncello launches a Library Olympics open to kids all over the country to challenge the reigning literature-loving champions of Alexandria, OH. The sequel to Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library (Random, 2013) pits teams of four middle schoolers from seven different geographical regions against the reigning hometown favorites, led by Kyle Keeley. The games feature a duodecimalthon of 12 challenging library-related games, from solving Dewey-related rebus puzzles to identifying banned books, all taking place in the ultra-modern, technologically advanced Lemoncello Library. The grand prize is an all-expenses paid college scholarship, plus bragging rights. Before long, however, mysterious events threaten to jeopardize the Olympics and the library itself—books are disappearing from the shelves, and some groups or individuals may be to blame, as not everyone is a fan of the sparkling new library. Kyle and his teammates must band together with the rival teams to outwit those intent on bringing Lemoncello and the library down. Dewey Decimal aficionados, bibliophiles, and gamers will all find something to savor while trying to decipher the clues in this fast-paced sequel. At the end of the book, Grabenstein challenges kids to find quotes from banned books within the novel and to read the extensive list of titles mentioned throughout the story.