#Chris Grabenstein

[mollyhats]

If you liked The Mysterious Benedict Society, try...

Book rec post!

If you liked The Mysterious Benedict Society for...

...found family of kid spies, try

City Spies by James Ponti

Brooklyn, a hacker, is recruited into a family of orphans who handle missions for MI6 under the protective eye of the eccentric "Mother," an agent who started accidentally collecting orphans while searching for his own lost children. If you love TMBS for a bunch of kids (and peculiar adults) forming a tight-knit family against a background of espionage, this book is perfect for you!

...the world of Stonetown and it's slightly off-kilter worldbuilding, try

The Greenglass House by Kate Milford

Milo lives in a smuggler's hotel with his parents, but he expects a quiet family Christmas--until guests start piling in, each with their own secrets and hidden agendas. Milo and his new friend Meddy decide to investigate, using a TTRPG as their guide. The connection to TMBS is harder to pin down here, but there's a definite vibe. They feel like they could take place in the same world.

...the puzzles, riddles, and games, try

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

Before the grand opening of a new library, Kyle and several of his classmates are invited to a lock-in---but little do they know, they're in for a wild night of escape room puzzles that will require all of their gifts to solve. If you love the riddles and tricks of TMBS, as well as the ways the Society uses their different strengths to get through all kinds of puzzles, this is a great choice.

...a lonely kid passing strange trials to enter a new world and family, try

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Morrigan was cursed to die on her 12th birthday, but instead she's swept away to a magical world and offered a chance to participate in a series of trials to join the prestigious Wundrous Society and be safe from the curse. But there's so much she doesn't know, and the things she learns about this strange new world might pale in comparison to what she learns about herself. The trials she faces feel very similar to Mr. Benedict's, and there's plenty else to continue the comparison once we get past them (in either book): quirky mentors, lonely orphans, world-shaking plots, a strange school.

[intothestacks]

Story time!

I was once making a PowerPoint about the book I was reading to my Grade 4 students when I came across the author's website. I was like "I wonder how much he charges for a visit" and looked it up just out of curiosity.

Turned out that he was doing virtual visits for free during the pandemic as a way of doing his part to help educators.

So I was like "I might as well put in a request so I can tell people I tried, haha".

And I got a free author visit out of it. He even shared the students' art of his book on his social media (after asking if it was okay, of course).

So ask.

Always ask.

"if you dont ask the answer is always no" yeah but what if the answer is no plus they think im weird for asking. did you ever consider that in ur stupid fucking philosophy

[giftideasfromaycaramba]

ZACK, HIS DAD, and new stepmother have just moved back to his father’s hometown, not knowing that their new house has a dark history. Fifty years ago, a crazed killer caused an accident at the nearby crossroads that took 40 innocent lives. He died when his car hit a tree in a fiery crash, and his malevolent spirit has inhabited the tree ever since. During a huge storm, lightning hits the tree, releasing the spirit, who decides his evil spree isn’t over . . . and Zack is directly in his sights.

Award-winning thriller author Chris Grabenstein fills his first book for younger readers with the same humorous and spine-tingling storytelling that has made him a fast favorite with adults.

[blogthefiresidechats]

Latest haul!

I made another visit to my local book store and you’ll be able to see what I purchased below. I’ve come to realize this year that reading books and purchasing books are two completely different hobbies of mine. With as many books that I have in my collection at the moment, I’m surprised that people aren’t stopping by my house thinking that another branch has opened up that’s apart of the city…

[graphicpolicy]

Chris Grabenstein’s Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library is now a graphic novel!

Chris Grabenstein’s Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library is now a graphic novel! #comics #comicbooks #graphicnovel

[mygrowingcollection]

James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein

[littletroubledgrrrl]

Author Chris Grabenstein is responsible for Miller Lite's "Great Taste, Less Filling" slogan.

I wonder how he felt about Miller Lite's infamous catfight commercial from 2003?

[psychicthepsychic-daily]

the very next line is "impossible. keeley doesn't have a mind for me to play with." which i feel is very much something psychic would say about boyfriend

[book--brackets]

[intothestacks]

So, the escape room I made for the Grade 4s & 5s works like this (1/2):

Firstly, I made it cooperative instead of competitive, in honour of the book I’ve read for the past 2 years to the Grade 4s (Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein), which is kind of like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but set in a library with an escape-the-room game that turns out to be cooperative.

The story for the game is that, one day during library time, the lights go out, and when they come back on, the grownups are gone and they’re locked in the library. The landline doesn’t work, and neither does the computer, so they can’t call for help. But an unknown voice speaks from the intercom telling them that they must figure out who’s behind this if they want the grownups to return and the library to unlock.

There are 4 teams, each of which must follow clues that culminate in a clue that must be used with the final clues of the other teams to solve the final riddle, which is the name of who’s behind the library lock-in (the final clues are the letters L-O-K-I).

Each team has envelopes with a different symbol on it which in itself are technically clues to who’s behind what’s going on: 

a green sugar skull (to represent Loki’s daughter Hella, goddess of death)

a green snake eating its own tail (to represent Loki’s Monstrous Child Jörmungandr)

a blue wolf (to represent Loki’s Monstrous Child Fenrir the Great Wolf)

a brown symbol of an eight-legged horse (representing Loki’s horse-child Sleipnir).

Each envelope also has a number so they know the order to open the envelopes in.

The clues are all Viking-themed and lead them to different areas of the library. The first clue for each theme is centered around an object (a Mjollnir necklace, a pop-up card of a Viking ship, my cellphone, and a box that looks like a fake book).

Every team has one activity where they have to decipher something and the other clues are more like a scavenger hunt style. 

For example, the clue leading to the religion section requires them to put magnets that I printed pics of gems on them in the correct order in order to place the corresponding coloured letter magnets to spell out RELIGION.

The order of the gems is based on a list I provide them of the Nine Worlds of Norse mythology, with each world name shaded as the corresponding colour of a gem.

Two of the other interactive clues are rebuses, and the final interactive clue is the word “languages” written in Norse Runes (I provide them with a list of the Norse alphabet).

[fictional-library-tournament]

Prelims round 1, poll 13

Propaganda

Great Library of Zosma, Strange the Dreamer by Lainie Taylor:

None

Library of Alexandria, The Atlas series:

This is a freaking half-sentient all knowing wise library that got bullied by one half-insane drunk and depressed empath into giving him the information it was specifically supposed to withhold

What a pathetic mess of a Library

Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Cemetery of Forgotten Books series by Carlos Ruiz Zafón:

None

The Scholomance Library, A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik:

The library inside the Scholomance is so cool. It’s open to a void above, and is the safest place inside the entire school. The sections are mostly in the same place every time. But the shelves can stretch out and fill up with more books

Alexandriaville Public Library, Mr Lemoncello's Library series by Chris Grabenstein:

A Wonka-esque (minus the deadly traps) library renovated by a genius game designer. The middle grade book series involves kids who must solve reading related puzzles that are hidden throughout the library, including in their personalized library cards. All stacks have special hover machines to find the perfect book and a holographic librarian to help out.

[dankthereader]

Here we are, my READING LIST 2024:

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The Rainbow Troops: A Novel by Andea Hirata (reread Eng ver)

Q & A by Vikas Swarup (I watched the film)

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (I read the Viet ver)

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

One Little Lie by Collen Coble

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

A Little History Of The World by E.H. Gombrich

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson

Mr. Lemoncello's Library Series by Chris Grabenstein (I read book 1 in Viet ver and I think it's pretty cool)

Minute Mage (try out book 1?)(havent read litrpg b4..)

The Prophet And The Idiot by Jonas Jonasson

The Devotion Of Suspect X by Higashino Keigo

Solomon's Perjury 1&2 by Miyabe Miyuki

The Librarians Series by Greg Cox (I like the show🥰)

I think that's enough, huh?

[petnews2day]

Sherman Community Players production of Curiosity Cat opens March 1

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/Yz3Ta

Sherman Community Players production of Curiosity Cat opens March 1

“To my way of thinking, there are no such things as strays; only those who have not yet found their homes.” Sherman, Texas — From the imaginative mind of award-winning author Chris Grabenstein comes a very funny, very touching new comedy filled with laughter, learning, and heart that’s ideal for school groups and professional children’s […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/Yz3Ta #CatsNews

[paginadepsihologie]

Această poveste încurajatoare despre descoperirea de sine celebrează prietenia, bunătatea și împlinirea potențialului.

[winningthesweepstakes]

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library: the Graphic Novel by Chris Grabenstein, illustrated by Douglas Holgate

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library: the Graphic Novel by Chris Grabenstein, illustrated by Douglas Holgate. Random House Graphic, 2023. 9780593484852  Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5 Format: Hardcover graphic novel Genre:  Fantasy, adventure, mystery What did you like about the book? This is the graphic novel version of the hit chapter book of the same title and it’s…