What books are similar to Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library?

The 10 closest matches to Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein on ReadingList include Welcome to Wonderland #1: Home Sweet Motel, A Million Ways Home, Because of Mr. Terupt, Blended, and El Deafo. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–6), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.

How does ReadingList choose similar books?

Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Books like Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

If you liked Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, read Welcome to Wonderland #1: Home Sweet Motel, A Million Ways Home, or Because of Mr. Terupt — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Welcome to Wonderland #1: Home Sweet Motel by Chris Grabenstein

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Looking for books like Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein? The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 4–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Welcome to Wonderland #1: Home Sweet Motelgrades 3–8: Is by Chris Grabenstein, the same author, overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
A Million Ways Homegrades 4–6: Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+3 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Because of Mr. Teruptgrades 3–5: Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+3 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Blended610L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
El Deafo420L: Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+9 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Fish in a Tree550L: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+4 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Foundgrades 4–6: Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Front Desk640L: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+5 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost Boys360L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+5 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Gutsgrades 4–8: Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt · grades K–3 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+3 more shared lists) and the same era (2010s).
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt · grades 2–8 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+4 more shared lists), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).

Books like Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

New Kid by Jerry Craft · grades 4–8 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+7 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s).
One for Sorrow by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper · 700L — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+11 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Pax by Sara Pennypacker · 760L — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+4 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Pie by Sarah Weeks · grades 3–8 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

New Kid by Jerry Craft · grades 4–8 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+7 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s).
One for Sorrow by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper · 700L — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+11 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Pax by Sara Pennypacker · 760L — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+4 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Pie by Sarah Weeks · grades 3–8 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman · grades 7–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+4 more shared lists) and the same era (2010s).
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green · 850L — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+5 more shared lists) and the same era (2010s).
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+2 more shared lists) and the same era (2010s).
The Selection by Kiera Cass · grades 7–12 — Both on the Volunteer State Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen · grades 7–12 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library?: The 10 closest matches to Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein on ReadingList include Welcome to Wonderland #1: Home Sweet Motel, A Million Ways Home, Because of Mr. Terupt, Blended, and El Deafo. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–6), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
How does ReadingList choose similar books?: Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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