Books like Chris Grabenstein’s Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library are among my favorite to teach because they’re already engaging and kid-friendly. They can be used as a simple read aloud or as a full blown novel unit or even to level-up a birthday party.
Despite that automatic buy-in, however, you can maximize learning by adding a bit more effort. Ask questions as you read that will prompt your students to think critically not just about the book but about larger issues. Connect with the games, books, and trivia inherent to the story. Throw a book-themed party complete with food, games, and decorations – or even host your own escape room.
The problem with any of these ideas is that they require work, preparation, and planning on the part of the leading adults – but have no fear, because I’ve done that for you! I just completed creating a full discussion and critical thinking guide for Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, complete with vocabulary words, printable handouts, creative writing prompts, rubrics for scoring, and teaching ideas. When paired with my related resources – Games and Printables, an Escape Room, and Movie Projects – you’ll have everything you need for all of the ideas listed above and more.
Reading the book with your class and throwing a party afterwards? This comes with student handouts, recipes, games, and decorations – even an escape room in the style of the one in the book.
Are some of your students using this in their literature circle? This resource comes with questions per chapter, plus those questions reorganized for use with as assessments or comprehension checks.
Are you homeschooling and reading this with all of your children – or maybe in a book club or class? Discuss the themes of friendship, bullying, teamwork, and literacy, then prepare some of the foods from the story – recipes included! Watch the movie and compare and contrast it with Grabenstein’s novel easy with the included tracking pages.
This is a bundled resource that includes the brand new Discussion Questions & Writing Prompts resource, as well as the Escape Room, Games & Printables, and Movie Projects. Each of these comes with teaching ideas, answer keys where relevant, and are ready to print and go – all making it possible for you to maximize learning and student engagement with a minimum of work on your part.
I’ve taught Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library with my own homeschooled kids and with their friends in book club format. We’ve partied overnight and escaped our house with the escape room. We’ve decorated, snacked, gamed, and discussed it at length – and you can benefit from our extensive work with this fantabulous story.
So get all the details here and enjoy your own Lemoncello adventures!
I’d love to hear how you interact with Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library. Please share in the comments below!
What are your thoughts?