Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library
Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, #1
Chris Grabenstein

“Should anything go wrong, we have paramedics, firefighters, and a team of Navy SEALS—each with the heart of a samurai—standing by.”
ESCAPE FROM MR. LEMONCELLO’S LIBRARY

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

 

For the Grand Opening of an eccentric billionaire’s elaborate new downtown library, twelve lucky children will Continue reading “Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library”

National Name Yourself Day

The calendar is filled with notable days, some more quirky than others. April 9 is #NationalNameYourselfDay, and I actually have an appropriate middlegrade book quote. In Rebecca Stead’s Liar & Spy, we meet a boy named Georges.

My name is Georges, which is pronounced just like “George” because the S is silent, but of course some kids call me “Jor-Jess,” or “Gorgeous.” I don’t much care. There are worse things to be called than Gorgeous, even for a boy.

Liar and Spy

Of course, Georges didn’t name himself. But his new neighbors definitely fit in the quirky department. They’re not exactly conventional, and all three kids really did name themselves. Continue reading “National Name Yourself Day”

Enola Holmes

April 3 is National Tweed Day, and what better way to celebrate than with allusions to Sherlock Holmes! The fictional detective is famous for his tweedy attire. Both his trademark deerstalker cap and his sleeveless Inverness cape were made of the rough, woolen cloth so suitable to London’s damp and highland’s moors. One of my favorite middlegrade series casts Sherlock in a new light. He and Mycroft are the much older brothers of a clever girl named Enola.

Solving Crime Runs in the Family

Enola Holmes 01
Continue reading “Enola Holmes”

The Mark of the Dragonfly

The Mark of the Dragonfly
World of Solace, #1
Jaleigh Johnson

Piper knew she should be proud of her talent, and she was, but it made her nervous the way people whispered about her.
—THE MARK OF THE DRAGONFLY

Mark of the Dragonfly

Piper is an orphan from a shanty town, barely surviving on what she can earn from Continue reading “The Mark of the Dragonfly”