A Whole Other Story: Bookish Adventures at Lafayette School

As winter melts into spring, Lafayette School journeys to a page-turning destination, celebrating books about reading, language, and libraries and topped off with a top-notch Author’s Day visit with one of Lafayette School’s favorite story-spinners, Chris Grabenstein. Let's take a look at three of Mr. Grabenstein's books....

Our Top Story: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein. Twelve-year-old class clown Kyle Keeley wins a sought-after spot at a sleepover in the new town library—a building designed by famous game-maker Luigi Lemoncello. When morning comes, Kyle and friends must work together to open locked doors and escape the library. Reading Road Trippers declare this puzzle-packed New York Times Bestseller a Lafayette favorite!

Mr. Lemoncello's Library Diorama Project.

Let the Reading Games Begin: Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein. In this sparkling sequel, world-renowned game maker Luigi Lemoncello invites teams from across the country to compete in the first-ever Library Olympiad. It sounds like a rollicking good time! But something suspicious is going on: books are missing from Mr. Lemoncello’s library. Is someone trying to censor what the kids are reading? Kyle and teammates must solve mind-boggling challenges to unravel the mystery, and Lafayette readers are thronging to the shelves (FIC GRA) to find out!

Lafayette Library Olympics Bulletin Board.

Mr. Lemoncello's Olympics Amusement Park by Emily, Sarah, and Molly.

Mrs. Cifrodella and Lafayette School got in the Library Olympic spirit
to welcome Author Chris Grabenstein!

Characters Come to Life: The Island of Dr. Libris by Chris Grabenstein. Twelve-year-old Billy Gillfoyle is spending summer vacation in a lakeside cabin that belongs to mysterious Dr. Libris. Strange things are happening: whenever Billy opens books from the owner’s bookcase, he hears strange sounds coming from an island in the the lake. Has Dr. Libris found a way to make stories come alive?

The Island of Dr. Libris by Emily, Molly, and Laura.

More Bookish Adventures 

from Our Reading Road Trip Shelves:

We’re Off to Read a Wonderful Story: Who Stole the Wizard of Oz? by Avi. After Becky is accused of stealing a rare edition of The Wizard of Oz from the local library, she and twin brother Toby set out to prove her innocence and to catch the real thief. Ingenious clues concealed in four other books lead to hidden treasure for adventurous Reading Road Trippers.

An Open Book: Storybound by Marissa Burt. When Una Fairchild stumbles upon a mysterious book concealed in the basement of her school library, she opens the cover and flips through the pages. This is an extraordinary book! Quite suddenly, the shy twelve-year-old finds herself written into the Land of Story—a world filled with incredible heroes, astonishing villains, and fantastic fairy-tale characters. With the help of a new friend and a talking cat, Una digs deep into Story’s past and works to discover her own part in the story.

Land of Stories: We Hit the Books with a Hit Series!

Perfect Spelling: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer. Twins Alex and Conner Bailey leave the modern world behind and find themselves in a land full of enchantment, magic, and classic fairy-tale characters. After a series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls, returning home proves difficult!

The Wishing Spell Video Project by Sarah S.

Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell Diorama by Sophia I.

Back to the Books: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer. In this sequel to The Wishing Spell, Alex and Conner defy their grandmother and journey to the Land of Stories to rescue their kidnapped mother and to save the fairy tale world from a terrible threat: the vengeful return of the Enchantress who cursed Sleeping Beauty.

Reading Loud and Clear: A Grimm Warning by Chris Colfer. Thirteen-year-old Conner Bailey believes his fairy-tale adventuring is behind him—until he receives a mysterious warning from the famous Brothers Grimm.  Accompanied by classmate Bree, he returns to the Land of Stories, reuniting with twin sister and Fairy Godmother-in-training Alex just as war breaks out.

Reading Between the Lines: The Legend of Spud Murphy by Eoin Colfer. Reading. It’s perfect. How can you get into trouble reading a book? After less-than-perfect behavior during summer vacation, William and Marty’s mother begins dropping them off at the library several afternoons a week.  The nine-and-ten-year-old brothers dread boredom and fear the menacing librarian, Mrs. “Spud” Murphy—but they are in for some surprises. Reading Road Trippers are spending time in their own library, checking out this entertaining first-in-a-series.

Legend of Spud Murphy Interview 

with Katherine, Sydney, Callahan, and Ryland.

Legend of Spud Murphy Puppet Show

with Azniv, Isabella, Meredith, and Jackie.

Legend of Spud Murphy Skit

featuring Mackenzie, Sarah, Olivia, and Ava.

Figures of Speech: Punished by David Lubar. While playing tag in the library, Logan literally runs into enigmatic Professor Wordsworth, who pun-ishes the rambunctious protagonist for disrespectful behavior with a dose of magic pun dust. Before we can say MADAM, IN EDEN I'M ADAM or A MAN, A PLAN, A CANAL, PANAMA, Logan is in big trouble with his parents, his teachers, and his best friend. The only way to reverse his linguistic curse is to find seven oxymorons, seven anagrams, and seven palindromes in three days. Can Logan complete the word-play challenges? WAS IT A BAR OR A BAT I SAW? Lafayette Readers will answer the questions and find the palindromes when they read this book cover to cover!

ARE WE NOT DRAWN ONWARD TO NEW ERA? 

Yes, indeed! That’s our palindrome, this is our story... and we’re sticking to it!

Chris Grabenstein and Lafayette students share the Library Olympic spirit!