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Your summer
adventure starts
HERE!
EMBARK on a
quest to triumph
over ancient evil
ESCAPE
to uncharted
territory
DISCOVER
a library full
of ideas
NAVIGATE
a dangerous
destiny
DECODE
a mysterious
cyber-puzzle
BLAST OFF
on a mission to
save the world
3
Will Wilder: The Relic of Perilous Falls
14
Voyagers: Project Alpha
25
Knights of the Borrowed Dark
37
Click Here to Start
51
The City of Ember
48
95
Escape from Mr. Lemoncellos Library
2
START READING
NOW!
RAYMOND ARROYO
CROWN BOOKS
FOR YOUNG READERS
NEW YORK
Arro_9780553539592_2p_all_r1.indd 3
7/31/15 10:55 AM
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the
authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,
events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright 2016 by Raymond Arroyo
Jacket art copyright 2016 by Jeff Nentrup
Illustrations copyright 2016 by Antonio Javier Caparo
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Crown Books for
Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Childrens Books, a division of
Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
Crown and the colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
Visit us on the Web! randomhousekids.com
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at RHTeachersLibrarians.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Arroyo, Raymond.
The relic of Perilous Falls / Raymond Arroyo. First edition.
pages cm. (Will Wilder ; [1])
Summary: A thrill-seeking twelve-year-old boy with a mysterious family heritage who
discovers ancient objects of rare powerand must protect them from the terrifying demons
who will do anything to possess them Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-553-53959-2 (trade) ISBN 978-0-553-53960-8 (lib. bdg.)
ISBN 978-0-553-53961-5 (ebook)
[1. Adventure and adventurersFiction. 2. RelicsFiction. 3. SupernaturalFiction.
4. FamiliesFiction. 5. PropheciesFiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.A74352Re 2016 [Fic]dc23 2015006124
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Random House Childrens Books supports the First Amendment
and celebrates the right to read.
7/31/15 10:55 AM
CHAPTER 1
10
fans. Youre getting so big, the donkey could ride you! Why
dont you and your friends go finish that catapult thing
youve been working on? She gave him a quick one-armed
hug and made her way back toward the party guests.
Mom, please, just one time around the yardor maybe
down the block, Will begged.
No, youll kill it, you big ox! she said over her shoulder
with a smirk. Deborah swept back her straight brown hair and
bent down to fix Wills six-year-old sister Marins pink dress.
So now donkey rides have age restrictions? Will yelled
after her. I didnt know that, Mom! Is there a height limit
too? But Deborah Wilder paid him no attention. She had
already mingled back into the crush of family, children, and
neighbors in the fun part of the yard.
Marin stuck her tiny pink tongue out at Will, both hands
on her hips. Follow the rules, mithter. Follow the rules,
she scolded with a lisp before cartwheeling away.
Sulking in defeat, Will shuffled back toward his three
friends, two boys and a girl, who were watching closely from
the fence at the rear of the yard. Since when am I too big? Will
believed he had at least another year, maybe two, before
he would officially outgrow amusements like donkey rides.
He knew he had to let them go eventually. But not now
especially when money and prestige were on the line.
Strike one, Will-man, Andrew Stout, a massive kid with
blazing red hair, and one of Wills closest friends, bellowed.
Wheres my five dollars?
Im not finished yet, Will said.
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Council and a constant if disagreeable presence at family events . On the surface Mr . Crinshaw seemed a refined
gentleman, even warm .
Until he opened his mouth .
In a flat drone, he advised the neighborhood kids to stay
on the Wilders side of the fence, worried that they might
leap into his garden and ruin the rare flowers and herbs he
spent thousands of dollars maintaining .
Theres nothing over there for you, he croaked to the
kids when their parents were out of earshot . Then, bending
down to their level, with a smile he added, Though my dog,
Suzy, might like to see you all . She so enjoys children . She
ate two last yearbones and all .
Mr . Crinshaw turned away as a couple of the little girls
immediately burst into tears .
Will spied Aunt Freda, Deborah Wilders blond relative, who had made herself snack guardian . Looking like
an albino elephant caught in a kelly-green bedsheet, Freda
jealously protected the table from approaching guests, gobbling cheese squares and chips as she made her way toward
the cake at the other end of the table .
Across from Aunt Freda, near the drink station, Mayor
Ava Lynch held a circle of parents spellbound . Her red suit
and helmet of hard black hair seemed out of place at a backyard summer party . With the help of some sort of greasy
youth cream, her skeletal face was quite animated that day .
No, no . . . this city has got to move beyond the shackles of
its history or we will never grow, she brayed, as if giving a
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By R AYMOND ARROYO
RAYMOND ARROYO
CROWN BOOKS
FOR YOUNG READERS
NEW YORK
Arro_9780553539592_2p_all_r1.indd 3
7/31/15 10:55 AM
PROJECT ALPHA
D. J. MacHale
#VoyagersHQ
VoyagersHQ.com
Random House
New York
1
ark.
Pitch-dark.
The kind where you cant tell if youre next to a thousand
other people, standing totally alone . . .
. . . or about to step off a cliff.
We should stay close, Dash Conroy said, his voice echoing in the vast empty space.
Im fine on my own, Anna Turner replied curtly.
Anna wasnt about to show weakness or fear, especially
not in front of Dash. There was too much at stake. This was a
competition she was determined to win.
We can help each other, Dash argued. At least until we
figure out what the real challenge is.
Their assignment was clear: retrieve the golden flag. Whoever got it first would be the winner. Simple, except navigating
their way through the darkness wasnt their only task. Something else would be waiting for them. An obstacle. A puzzle.
A test.
Danger was out there. They both knew it.
They just couldnt see it.
16
Im gonna shuffle ahead slowly, Dash said. If I hit something, Ill let you know.
If you hit something, Ill hear it, Anna shot back.
Walking into the unknown had Dashs stomach in a knot.
There was no way to know if there was a hundred yards of
nothing between him and the golden flag or if he was inches
away from something sharp waiting to skewer him.
Are you behind me? Dash asked, trying not to let his
voice crack with tension.
Why? You nervous? Anna asked coyly. Maybe you
should sit this one out.
No, Im okay Ow!
Dash pulled his hands back quickly.
17
Instantly, powerful overhead lights kicked on, illuminating the giant space to reveal they were inside a massive, eightstory-high white tent. Dash was right. Turning on the lights
allowed them to see what was out there.
It was a fifty-foot-tall dinosaur with a long snout filled with
multiple rows of teeth. Sharp teeth.
The two stood looking up at the beast in wide-eyed, stunned
amazement.
Oh, thats not good, Anna said, dumbfounded.
The monster reared back and let out a chilling bellow that
shook the overhead lighting grid.
Move! Dash yelled, and pushed her behind a pile of
wooden crates next to the control panel.
I told you not to flip those switches, Anna said in a
strained whisper.
Seriously? Dash whispered back. Youd rather we just
walked into that thing?
Its a dinosaur! Why is there a dinosaur?
Dash peered around the edge of the crates to see the
behemoth clawing at the floor with its huge, birdlike feet,
scraping the surface with lethal talons. It stood in the center of
the giant tent, thirty yards away, twisting its head one way
and then the other like a curious dog that just heard a strange
sound.
Whats it doing? Anna whispered.
It seems bothered, Dash replied.
Dash raised his hand. Strapped to his wrist was a wide,
flexible band that held a small, flat computer monitor. His fingers moved quickly over the soft touch pad that covered most
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both and handed one to Anna. Well hit its eyes from both
sides. Whichever way it turns, itll be blinded and we can work
our way to the flag.
Anna looked back to the Raptogon. It had regained its balance and was scanning for them.
You sure about this? she said, showing a rare hint of uncertainty.
Yes, Dash replied calmly. It has bad lateral movement,
so keep moving to the side.
The Raptogon zeroed in on the two, shrieked, and charged.
Its massive claws pounded the floor as it stormed toward its
prey.
Dash quickly pressed the button on his flashlight and a
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with them was an adult man who was surveying the scene with
his hands on his hips.
We have a winner! he announced, his amplified words
booming through the cavernous space.
Dash wasnt sure what he meant. How could there have
been a winner? They had failed miserably and were nearly
eaten.
Thats when the truth hit him.
He looked to the platform on the far side of the tent to see
Anna standing on top, waving the golden flag in triumph.
It was a harsh lesson. He had to be careful about who to
trust. It was a mistake he vowed not to make again. That is, as
long as he wasnt knocked out of the competition for having
23
D. J. MacHale
Dave Rudden
Random House
New York
1
Absentee Aunts
Four months later October 2
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take him away? Most of the other children and teenagers in Crosscaper had spent their entire lives dreaming of something like this.
That was what worried Denizen. Dreams were
tricky things. Hed only ever really had the one, at least
until the past couple of months.
Since the summer, his sleep had been haunted by
Crosscapers dark corridors, a figure in white drifting
down them like a moth made of glass. In the dream, the
figure had lingered, its milk-skinned hands caressing
the door of each dormitory in turn before finding his
and slipping in. . . .
He shook his head. Definitely not a dream he wanted
spilling over into real life.
Maybe Simon was right. Maybe his aunt was a
chocolate-spy. Maybe Denizens life was about to
change. Less skepticism. More weaponized hazelnut
creams.
His bed creaked as he sat down heavily on it. Like
everything in Crosscaper, it was falling apart. The
orphans relied on castoffs and donations, and since
neither Simon nor Denizen fell into the realm of
average height, they had the worst of itmore holdme-togethers than hand-me-downs, skewered with a
fortune of safety pins so that when the boys moved,
they clicked like ants.
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KNIGHTS of the
BORROWED DARK
By Dave Rudden
a novel
DENIS MARKELL
DELACORTE PRESS
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the
authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,
events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright 2016 by Denis Markell
Jacket art and interior illustrations copyright 2016 by Octavi Navarro
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random
House Childrens Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
Delacorte Press is a registered trademark and the colophon is a trademark of
Penguin Random House LLC.
Visit us on the Web! randomhousekids.com
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at RHTeachersLibrarians.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Markell, Denis.
Click here to start (a novel) / Denis Markell. First edition.
pages cm
Summary: When Ted inherits his uncles apartment and all the treasure within, he realizes
the apartment is set up like a real-life video game and must solve the puzzles with his friends
to discover the treasure.
ISBN 978-1-101- 93187- 5 (hardcover) ISBN 978-1-101- 93189- 9 (glb)
ISBN 978-1-101- 93188-2 (ebook)
[1. Buried treasureFiction. 2. Video gamesFiction. 3. FriendshipFiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.M339453Cl 2016
[Fic] dc23
2015011782
The text of this book is set in 11- point Amasis MT.
Book design by Stephanie Moss
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Random House Childrens Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
CHAPTER 1
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Kissing games.
What th?
Uh, no, sir, I begin. I dont enjoy kissing games. That is,
Ive never played them. Maybe I would enjoy them if I did. I
mean, you never know about something until you try it, right?
Im babbling now. Trying to look casual, I lean against something, then realize its a pole holding some fluid going into my
great-uncle (or maybe coming out of him hard to tell). Gross.
I attempt to cross my legs, but I dare anyone to try to do it
while wearing these ICU snot-green-colored clown pants they
made me wear over my jeans to come in here. Its not so simple. So my leg sort of hovers half hoisted.
Meanwhile, Great-Uncle Ted is scribbling away.
I know you like computer games, you little twerp. I just
wanted to see your face.
I laugh, and I see a hint of a smile under all the machinery.
You like the ones where you shoot people?
Im not allowed to play those, I say, which is the truth.
I didnt ask if you were allowed to. I asked if you liked them.
I smile and nod. This guy is pretty sharp. Um. . . yeah, I
play them sometimes.
Great-Uncle Ted looks at me with an expression I cant
make out.
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except for the part about him killing a lot of people. Im pretty
sure I dont want to hear more about that.
So I guess you knew my mom when she was a little kid, I
begin. What was she like?
Amanda was a pain in the a
He stops and his eye drifts up to my face and back down
to his pad.
Amanda was a pain in the a behind, if youll excuse my
French.
I cant believe I thought this was going to be boring. This
is great! Seriously? How so? It takes all the self-control I can
muster to get this out without cracking up.
He writes for a long time, then hands the pad to me.
When she was nine, she had this thing where no matter what
you would ask her shed say, Thats for me to know and you
to find out.
Like youd ask her, What flavor ice cream do you want?
Thats for me to know and you to find out.
What movie do you want to see?
Thats for me to know and you to find out!
Do I have lung cancer?
Thats for me to know and you to find out!
I choke at that last one.
Great-Uncle Ted waves his hand wearily.
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I made that last one up. But she did say it all the time. She
thought it was cute. It stopped being cute after the first day.
Then it was annoying as heck.
Great-Uncle Ted pauses.
But she was always smart. And Im very proud of her.
Great-Uncle Ted was the one who paid for Mom to come to
California from Hawaii and go to nursing school. Shes been
working here at La Purisma General Hospital for as long as I
can remember.
Great-Uncle Ted looks up from the paper, and his wise, halflidded eyes meet mine. He scrawls on the page and holds up
the pad.
Please tell me about the games you play. How you solve
these puzzles.
Wait. Is a real, live adult person actually asking me details
about the games I play? This is unheard of.
So I go on and on, explaining how the games work, how at
first nothing seems to make sense. But then, as I put my mind
to it, a little click goes off in my head and the pieces begin to
fit. Its an awesome feeling when it all comes together and you
get it right.
Great-Uncle Ted seems genuinely interested, especially
when I tell him about a particularly tricky puzzle, where if you
look carefully at what appears to be a bunch of random drinking glasses on a tray, you realize they actually resemble the
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Yes, sir?
Great-Uncle Ted falls back and throws the pad at me.
THE BOX IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. KEEP LOOKING
FOR THE ANSWERS. ALWAYS GO FOR BROKE!
PROMISE ME!
With great effort, he tugs on my sleeve. I lean toward him.
He pulls me down until my ear is close to his face. I can just
make out the word he is saying.
Promise! the old man croaks. He releases my sleeve. He
looks peaceful now, like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.
As my great-uncle falls asleep, I hear my own voice, sounding far away, whispering, I promise.
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Book 1
The
CITY
of
EMBER
Jeanne DuPrau
A YEARLING BOOK
The Instructions
When the city of Ember was just built and not yet
inhabited, the chief builder and the assistant builder,
both of them weary, sat down to speak of the future.
They must not leave the city for at least two hundred years, said the chief builder. Or perhaps two
hundred and twenty.
Is that long enough? asked his assistant.
It should be. We cant know for sure.
And when the time comes, said the assistant,
how will they know what to do?
Well provide them with instructions, of course,
the chief builder replied.
But who will keep the instructions? Who can we
trust to keep them safe and secret all that time?
The mayor of the city will keep the instructions,
said the chief builder. Well put them in a box with a
timed lock, set to open on the proper date.
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return the box to its official hiding place or tell his successor about it, he died. The box ended up at the back
of a closet, shoved behind some old bags and bundles.
There it sat, unnoticed, year after year, until its time
arrived, and the lock quietly clicked open.
55
CHAPTER 1
Assignment Day
In the city of Ember, the sky was always dark. The only
light came from great flood lamps mounted on the
buildings and at the tops of poles in the middle of the
larger squares. When the lights were on, they cast a yellowish glow over the streets; people walking by threw
long shadows that shortened and then stretched out
again. When the lights were off, as they were between
nine at night and six in the morning, the city was so
dark that people might as well have been wearing
blindfolds.
Sometimes darkness fell in the middle of the day.
The city of Ember was old, and everything in it,
including the power lines, was in need of repair. So
now and then the lights would flicker and go out.
These were terrible moments for the people of Ember.
As they came to a halt in the middle of the street or
stood stock-still in their houses, afraid to move in the
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Lina gasped; the whole class rustled in surprise. Why would anyone be angry to get the job of
messenger?
Bad behavior! cried the mayor. His eyes bulged
and his face darkened. Go to your seat immediately.
Doon kicked the crumpled paper into a corner.
Then he stalked back to his desk and flung himself
down.
The mayor took a short breath and blinked furiously. Disgraceful, he said, glaring at Doon. A childish display of temper! Students should be glad to work
for their city. Ember will prosper if all . . .
citizens . . . do . . . their . . . best. He held up a stern
finger as he said this and moved his eyes slowly from
one face to the next.
Suddenly Doon spoke up. But Ember is not prospering! he cried. Everything is getting worse and
worse!
Silence! cried the mayor.
The blackouts! cried Doon. He jumped from his
seat. The lights go out all the time now! And the
shortages, theres shortages of everything! If no one
does anything about it, something terrible is going to
happen!
Lina listened with a pounding heart. What was
wrong with Doon? Why was he so upset? He was
taking things too seriously, as he always did.
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buildings all around the square, rows of lighted windows shone bright yellow and deep gold.
Lina sighed. This was where she wanted to be, up
here where everything happened, not down underground.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder. Startled, she
turned and saw Doon behind her. His thin face looked
pale. Will you trade with me? he asked.
Trade?
Trade jobs. I dont want to waste my time being a
messenger. I want to help save the city, not run around
carrying gossip.
Lina gaped at him. Youd rather be in the
Pipeworks?
Electricians helper is what I wanted, Doon said.
But Chet wont trade, of course. Pipeworks is second
best.
But why?
Because the generator is in the Pipeworks, said
Doon.
Lina knew about the generator, of course. In some
mysterious way, it turned the running of the river into
power for the city. You could feel its deep rumble when
you stood in Plummer Square.
I need to see the generator, Doon said. I
have . . . I have ideas about it. He thrust his hands into
his pockets. So, he said, will you trade?
Yes! cried Lina. Messenger is the job I want
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CHAPTER 2
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dresses and jackets and pants; she wound the yarn into
balls and the thread onto spools, and people bought
them to use in making new clothes.
These days, the shop was a mess. Long loops and
strands of yarn dangled out of the cubbyholes, and the
browns and grays and purples were mixed in with the
ochres and olive greens and dark blues. Grannys customers often had to spend half an hour unsnarling the
rust-red yarn from the mud-brown, or trying to fish
out the end of a thread from a tangled wad. Granny
wasnt much help. Most days she just dozed behind the
counter in her rocking chair.
Thats where she was when Lina burst in with her
news. Lina saw that Granny had forgotten to knot up
her hair that morningit was standing out from her
head in a wild white frizz.
Granny stood up, looking puzzled. You arent a
messenger, dear, youre a schoolgirl, she said.
But Granny, today was Assignment Day. I got my
job. And Im a messenger!
Grannys eyes lit up, and she slapped her hand
down on the counter. I remember! she cried. Messenger, thats a grand job! Youll be good at it.
Linas little sister toddled out from behind the
counter on unsteady legs. She had a round face and
round brown eyes. At the top of her head was a sprig
of brown hair tied up with a scrap of red yarn. She
grabbed on to Linas knees. Wy-na, Wy-na! she said.
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***
The messengers headquarters was on Cloving Street,
not far from the back of the Gathering Hall. When
Lina arrived the next morning, she was greeted by
Messenger Captain Allis Fleery, a bony woman with
pale eyes and hair the color of dust. Our new girl,
said Captain Fleery to the other messengers, a cluster
of nine people who smiled and nodded at Lina. I have
your jacket right here, said the captain. She handed
Lina a red jacket like the one all messengers wore. It
was only a little too large.
From the clock tower of the Gathering Hall came
a deep reverberating bong. Eight oclock! cried
Captain Fleery. She waved a long arm. Take your stations! As the clock sounded seven more times, the
messengers scattered in all directions. The captain
turned to Lina. Your station, she said, is Garn
Square.
Lina nodded and started off, but the captain
caught her by the collar. I havent told you the rules,
she said. She held up a knobby finger. One: When a
customer gives you a message, repeat it back to make
sure you have it right. Two: Always wear your red
jacket so people can identify you. Three: Go as fast as
possible. Your customers pay twenty cents for every
message, no matter how far you have to take it.
Lina nodded. I always go fast, she said.
Four, the captain went on. Deliver a message
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red dot for me, she said. Mrs. Polster did not seem to
find this amusing.
Lina had nineteen customers that first morning.
Some of them had ordinary messages: I cant come on
Tuesday. Buy a pound of potatoes on your way
home. Please come and fix my front door. Others
had messages that made no sense to her at all, like Mrs.
Polsters. But it didnt matter. The wonderful part
about being a messenger was not the messages but the
places she got to go. She could go into the houses of
people she didnt know and hidden alleyways and little
rooms in the backs of stores. In just a few hours, she
discovered all kinds of strange and interesting things.
For instance: Mrs. Sample, the mender, had to
sleep on her couch because her entire bedroom, almost
up to the ceiling, was crammed with clothes to be
mended. Dr. Felinia Tower had the skeleton of a
person hanging against her living room wall, its
bones all held in place with black strings. I study it,
she said when she saw Lina staring. I have to know
how people are put together. At a house on Calloo
Street, Lina delivered a message to a worried-looking
man whose living room was completely dark. Im saving on light bulbs, the man said. And when Lina took
a message to the Can Caf, she learned that on certain
days the back room was used as a meeting place for
people who liked to converse about Great Subjects.
Do you think an Invisible Being is watching over us
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cluster of people gazing up at the roof of the Gathering Hall and laughing. He was tired and chilly. The
bottoms of his pants legs were wet, and mud clung to
his shoes and smeared his hands. When he raised his
eyes and saw the small figure next to the clock tower,
he realized right away that it was Lina. He saw her raise
her arm and wave and hop about, and for a second he
wondered what it would be like to be up there, looking
out over the whole city, laughing and waving. When
Lina came down, he wanted to speak to her. But he
knew he was filthy-looking and that she would ask him
questions he didnt want to answer. So he turned away.
Walking fast, he headed for home.
39
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THE CITY OF
EMBER
By JEANNE DUPRAU
PRAISE FOR
A satisfying mystery,
a breathtaking escape over rooftops
in darkness, a harrowing journey into
the unknown, and cryptic messages for
readers to decipher.
Kirkus Reviews, starred
An electric debut.
Publishers Weekly, starred
JeanneDuprau.com
93
CHRIS GRABENSTEIN
CHRIS GRABENSTEIN
A YEARLING BOOK
A YEARLING BOOK
Grab_9780307931474_4P_fm_r3.indd 1
8/26/15 3:16 P
Sale of this book without a front cover may be unauthorized. If the book is coverless,
it may have been reported to the publisher as unsold or destroyed and neither the author
nor the publisher may have received payment for it.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are
the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright 2013 by Chris Grabenstein
Cover art copyright 2013 by Gilbert Ford
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Yearling, an imprint of
Random House Childrens Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
Originally published in hardcover in the United States by
Random House Childrens Books, New York, in 2013.
Yearling and the jumping horse design are
registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming book
MR. LEMONCELLOS LIBRARY OLYMPICS by Chris Grabenstein.
This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content
of the forthcoming edition.
Visit us on the Web! randomhousekids.com
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at RHTeachersLibrarians.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition of this work as follows:
Grabenstein, Chris.
Escape from Mr. Lemoncellos library / Chris Grabenstein. 1st ed.
pages cm.
Summary: Twelve-year-old Kyle gets to stay overnight in the new town library,
designed by his hero (the famous gamemaker Luigi Lemoncello), with other students
but finds that come morning he must work with friends to solve puzzles in order to escape.
Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-375-87089-7 (trade) ISBN 978-0-375-97089-4 (lib. bdg.)
ISBN 978-0-307-97496-9 (ebook)
[1. LibrariesFiction. 2. Books and readingFiction. 3. GamesFiction.]
I. Title. II. Title: Escape from Mister Lemoncellos library.
PZ7.G7487Es 2013 [Fic]dc23 2012048122
ISBN 978-0-307-93147-4 (pbk.)
Printed in the United States of America
10 9
First Yearling Edition 2014
Random House Childrens Books supports
the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
1
This is how Kyle Keeley got grounded for a week.
First he took a shortcut through his mothers favorite
rosebush.
Yes, the thorns hurt, but having crashed through the
brambles and trampled a few petunias, he had a fivesecond jump on his oldest brother, Mike.
Both Kyle and his big brother knew exactly where to
find what they needed to win the game: inside the house!
Kyle had already found the pinecone to complete his
outdoors round. And he was pretty sure Mike had
snagged his yellow flower. Hey, it was June. Dandelions
were everywhere.
Give it up, Kyle! shouted Mike as the brothers dashed
up the driveway. You dont stand a chance.
Mike zoomed past Kyle and headed for the front door,
wiping out Kyles temporary lead.
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Of course he did.
Seventeen-year-old Mike Keeley was a total jock, a
high school superstar. Football, basketball, baseball. If it
had a ball, Mike Keeley was good at it.
Kyle, who was twelve, wasnt the star of anything.
Kyles other brother, Curtis, who was fifteen, was still
trapped over in the neighbors yard, dealing with their dog.
Curtis was the smartest Keeley. But for his outdoors
round, he had pulled the always unfortunate Your Neighbors Dogs Toy card. Any dog card was basically the
same as a Lose a Turn.
As for why the three Keeley brothers were running
around their neighborhood on a Sunday afternoon like
crazed lunatics, grabbing all sorts of wacky stuff, well, it
was their mothers fault.
She was the one who had suggested, If you boys are
bored, play a board game!
So Kyle had gone down into the basement and dug
up one of his all-time favorites: Mr. Lemoncellos IndoorOutdoor Scavenger Hunt. It had been a huge hit for Mr.
Lemoncello, the master game maker. Kyle and his brothers had played it so much when they were younger, Mrs.
Keeley wrote to Mr. Lemoncellos company for a refresher
pack of clue cards. The new cards listed all sorts of different bizarro stuff you needed to find, like an adults
droopy underpants, one dirty dish, and a rotten
banana peel.
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(At the end of the game, the losers had to put everything back exactly where the items had been found. It was
an official rule, printed inside the top of the box, and made
winning the game that much more important!)
While Curtis was stranded next door, trying to talk the
neighbors Doberman, Twinky, out of his favorite tug toy,
Kyle and Mike were both searching for the same two items,
because for the final round, all the players were given the
same Riddle Card.
That days riddle, even though it was a card Kyle had
never seen before, had been extra easy.
find two coins from 1982 that add up to thirty
cents and one of them cannot be a nickel.
Duh. The answer was a quarter and a nickel because
the riddle said only one of them couldnt be a nickel.
So to win, Kyle had to find a 1982 quarter and a 1982
nickel.
Also easy.
Their dad kept an apple cider jug filled with loose
change down in his basement workshop.
Thats why Kyle and Mike were racing to get there first.
Mike bolted through the front door.
Kyle grinned.
He loved playing games against his big brothers. As the
youngest, it was just about the only chance he ever got to
beat them fair and square. Board games leveled the playing
field. You needed a good roll of the dice, a lucky draw of
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the cards, and some smarts, but if things went your way
and you gave it your all, anyone could win.
Especially today, since Mike had blown his lead by
choosing the standard route down to the basement. Hed
go through the front door, tear to the back of the house,
bound down the steps, and then run to their dads workshop.
Kyle, on the other hand, would take a shortcut.
He hopped over a couple of boxy shrubs and kicked
open the low-to-the-ground casement window. He heard
something crackle when his tennis shoe hit the windowpane, but he couldnt worry about it. He had to beat his
big brother.
He crawled through the narrow opening, dropped to
the floor, and scrabbled over to the workbench, where he
found the jug, dumped out the coins, and started sifting
through the sea of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters.
Score!
Kyle quickly uncovered a 1982 nickel. He tucked it into
his shirt pocket and sent pennies, nickels, and dimes skidding across the floor as he concentrated on quarters. 2010.
2003. 1986.
Come on, come on, he muttered.
The workshop door swung open.
What the . . . ? Mike was surprised to see that Kyle
had beaten him to the coin jar.
Mike fell to his knees and started searching for his own
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2
Halfway across town, Dr. Yanina Zinchenko, the worldfamous librarian, was walking briskly through the cavernous building that was only days away from its gala grand
opening.
Alexandriavilles new public library had been under
construction for five years. All work had been done with
the utmost secrecy under the tightest possible security. One
crew did the exterior renovations on what had once been
the small Ohio citys most magnificent building, the Gold
Leaf Bank. Other crews carpenters, masons, electricians,
and plumbersworked on the interior.
No single construction crew stayed on the job longer
than six weeks.
No crew knew what any of the other crews had done
(or would be doing).
And when all those crews were finished, several
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so many orange slices. Each screen could operate independently or as part of a spectacular whole. The Wonder Dome
could become the constellations of the night sky; a flight
through the clouds that made viewers below sense that the
whole building had somehow lifted off the ground; or, in
Dewey decimal mode, ten sections depicting vibrant and
constantly changing images associated with each category
in the library cataloging system.
I have the final numbers for the fourth sector of the
Wonder Dome in Dewey mode, Dr. Zinchenko said into
her Bluetooth earpiece. 364 point 1092. She carefully
over-enunciated each word to make certain the video artist knew what specific numbers should occasionally drift
across the fourth wedge amid the swirling social-sciences
montage featuring a floating judges gavel, a tumbling
teachers apple, and a gentle snowfall of holiday icons.
The numbers, however, should not appear until eleven
a.m. Sunday. Is that clear?
Yes, Dr. Zinchenko, replied the tinny voice in
her ear.
Next Dr. Zinchenko studied the holographic statues
projected into black crepe-lined recesses cut into the massive stone piers that supported the arched windows from
which the Wonder Dome rose.
Why are Shakespeare and Dickens still here? Theyre
not on the list for opening night.
Sorry, replied the librarys director of holographic
imagery, who was also on the conference call. Ill fix it.
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Thank you.
Exiting the rotunda, the librarian entered the Childrens Room.
It was dim, with only a few work lights glowing, but
Dr. Zinchenko had memorized the layout of the miniature tables and was able to march, without bumping her
shins, to the Story Corner for a final check on her recently
installed geese.
The flock of six audio-animatronic goslings fluffy
robots with ping-pongish eyeballs (created for the new
library by imagineers who used to work at Disney World)
stood perched atop an angled bookcase in the corner.
Mother Goose, in her bonnet and granny glasses, was
frozen in the center.
This is librarian One, said Dr. Zinchenko, loud
enough for the microphones hidden in the ceiling to pick
up her voice. Initiate story-time sequence.
The geese sprang to mechanical life.
Nursery rhyme.
The geese honked out Baa-Baa Black Sheep in sixpart harmony.
Treasure Island?
The birds yo-ho-hoed their way through Fifteen Men
on a Dead Mans Chest.
Dr. Zinchenko clapped her hands. The rollicking geese
stopped singing and swaying.
One more, she said. Squinting, she saw a book sitting on a nearby table. Walter the Farting Dog.
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The six geese spun around and farted, their tail feathers flipping up in sync with the noisy blasts.
Excellent. End story time.
The geese slumped back into their sleep mode. Dr.
Zinchenko made one more tick on her computer tablet.
Her final punch list was growing shorter and shorter,
which was a very good thing. The librarys grand opening
was set for Friday night. Dr. Z and her army of associates
had only a few days left to smooth out any kinks in the
librarys complex operating system.
Suddenly, Dr. Zinchenko heard a low, rumbling growl.
Turning around, she was eyeball to icy-blue eyeball
with a very rare white tiger.
Dr. Zinchenko sighed and touched her Bluetooth earpiece.
Ms. G? This is Dr. Z. What is our white Bengal tiger
doing in the childrens department? . . . I see. Apparently,
there was a slight misunderstanding. We do not want him
permanently positioned near The Jungle Book. Check the
call number. 599 point 757. . . . Right. He should be in
Zoology. . . . Yes, please. Right away. Thank you, Ms. G.
And like a vanishing mirage, the tiger disappeared.
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3
Of course, even though he was grounded, Kyle Keeley still
had to go to school.
Mike, Curtis, Kyle, time to wake up! his mother
called from down in the kitchen.
Kyle plopped his feet on the floor, rubbed his eyes, and
sleepily looked around his room.
The computer handed down from his brother Curtis
was sitting on the desk that used to belong to his other
brother, Mike. The rug on the floor, with its Cincinnati
Reds logo, had also been Mikes when he was twelve years
old. The books lined up in his bookcase had been lined up
on Mikes and Curtiss shelves, except for the ones Kyle got
each year for Christmas from his grandmother. He still
hadnt read last years addition.
Kyle wasnt big on books.
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Yes!
What?
I cleared level six! Finally.
Awesome. Kyle did not mention that he was up to
level twenty-seven. Akimi was his best friend. Friends
dont gloat to friends.
When I shot the squirrels at the falcons, said Akimi,
the pilots parachuted. If a squirrel bit the pilot in the butt,
I got a fifty-point bonus.
Yes, in Mr. Lemoncellos catapulting critters game,
there were all sorts of wacky jokes. The falcons werent
birds; they were F-16 Falcon Fighter Jets. And the squirrels? They were nuts. Totally bonkers. With swirly whirlpool eyes. They flew through the air jabbering gibberish.
They bit butts.
This was one of the main reasons why Kyle thought
everything that came out of Mr. Lemoncellos Imagination
Factoryboard games, puzzles, video gameswas amazingly awesome. For Mr. Lemoncello, a game just wasnt a
game if it wasnt a little goofy around the edges.
So, did you pick up the bonus code? asked Kyle.
Huh?
In the freeze-frame there.
Akimi studied the screen.
Turn it over.
Akimi did.
See that number tucked into the corner? Type that in
the next time the home screen asks you for your password.
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ESCAPE FROM
MR. LEMONCELLOS
LIBRARY
By CHRIS GRABENSTEIN
ADVENTURES ABOUND
with #1 New York Times bestselling author
CHRIS GRABENSTEIN
Discover the
coolest library
in the world.
James
Patterson,
#1 New York Times
bestselling author
WACKIEST
MOTEL!
On Sale
10.4.16
Looking for
OTHER FUN
ADVENTURES
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for more!
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