Author Chris Grabenstein and I met ten years ago when the first Thrillerfest was held in Phoenix. Over the years, I’ve read his Ceepak mysteries, his Haunted Mystery series (which I love), the Mr. Lemoncello books, and a few of his other ones. So, it was fun to catch up with him at Bouchercon.
But, you don’t want to go to the silent auction when Chris and Donna Andrews are the co-auctioneers, and Chris knows you’re in the audience. I was the only one personally challenged to bid on an item. (I did not, but we talked about it afterward.)
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| Chris as auctioneer |
He did have news. The Haunted Mystery series is about to be re-issued. And, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library is about to be made into a Nickelodeon TV movie, as he says in his newsletter. (Always fun to catch up, Chris!)
LOS ANGELES—Sept. 19, 2016—Nickelodeon announced today the start of production for a brand-new original TV movie, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, based on author Chris Grabenstein’s acclaimed children’s book of the same name about a group of friends whose overnight stay in their town’s new hi-tech library turns into a daring, dangerous adventure of escape. The 90-minute, live-action TV movie stars Breanna Yde (Nickelodeon’s School of Rock), Casey Simpson (Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn), Russell Roberts (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) and newcomers AJ Rivera and Klarke Pipkin. Production is underway in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with a premiere set for 2017. The book, originally published in 2013 by Random House Children’s Books, boasts a 94-week run on the New York Timesbestseller list.
World-renowned gamemaker Luigi Lemoncello (Russell Roberts) has built his latest creation—a new state-of-the-art library filled with whimsical and eccentric rooms, where hardcover books fly kids to shelves in the sky, and massive doors open into fantastical worlds.
Kyle Keeley (Casey Simpson), Lemoncello’s biggest fan, is chosen to be one of the first to experience the fun, along with his best friend Akimi (Breanna Yde), a bookworm named Sierra (Klarke Pipkin), a goofball named Peckelman (A.J. Luis Rivera Jr.), his rival Chiltington (Ty Nicolas Consiglio), and others.
The kids must use their minds to complete riddles and collect clues that lead them out of this unique playground of imagination. When excitement turns to jeopardy, this world of wonder begins to spiral out of control as literary characters run amok and chaos ensues. It’s up to the kids to make everything right again or else they won’t be the only ones escaping.
Said Grabenstein, “I’m excited to see what Nickelodeon does with Mr. Lemoncello! So many kids, teachers, and librarians have been asking me, ‘Where’s the Lemoncello movie?’ Now I can tell them it will be on Nick!”
“We cannot wait to bring author Chris Grabenstein’s imaginative world to life with kids’ favorite Nick stars at the center of all the fun,” said Michael Sammaciccia, executive producer for Nickelodeon. “This is an epic, action adventure story that taps into every child’s passion for books, games and technology. It’s a movie for kids, families and teachers alike.”
Look for the LEMONCELLO movie on Nickelodeon in 2017
