Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics

Before making his living writing novels, Grabenstein worked as an improvisational comic and an advertising executive. In the 1980s, Grabenstein performed with the highly regarded First Amendment Comedy and Improv Troupe. In the “Author’s Note” at the end of Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics, Grabenstein points out that it is appropriate that he would end up writing a novel about banned books since the First Amendment Comedy and Improv Troupe was dedicated to exercising its “First Amendment right of freedom of speech to poke fun at politicians and current events” (270).

The famous author James Patterson was Grabenstein’s first boss in advertising. When Patterson quit his job to become a writer, his success inspired Grabenstein. After 20 years in the field, Grabenstein quit his job and began writing; four years later, when he was 50 years old, his first novel was published. Although his initial books were for adults, he was inspired to begin writing children’s novels by his many nieces and nephews, who were not then old enough to read his books for grownups. Because of his own reluctance to read as a child, Grabenstein tries to make sure that his books for young readers are fast-paced and full of adventure and humor. He has found that he enjoys writing for children so much that he has made this the focus of his now-prolific writing career.

Chris Grabenstein has written and published more than 70 books for readers of all ages. For middle grade readers, he has written The Smartest Kid series, The Dog Squad series, The Wonderland series, and The Haunted Mystery series. For slightly younger readers, he has written The Stinky’s Story series. The books in the Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series are, in order, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics, Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race, Mr. Lemoncello’s All-Star Breakout Game, Mr. Lemoncello and the Titanium Ticket, and Mr. Lemoncello’s Fantabulous Finale. In 2022, Grabenstein also published a prequel book that tells the story of Luigi Lemoncello’s childhood: Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game.

For adults, Grabenstein has written a series called The John Ceepack Mysteries. The first book in the Ceepack series, Tilt-a-Whirl, won the Anthony Award. Grabenstein later won the Anthony again, for The Crossroads, one of the books in his Haunted Mystery series. Grabenstein has written many standalone books as well, including picture books for preschoolers and the books Shine!, The Island of Dr. Libris, and Super Puzzletastic Mysteries, all for middle grade readers. Working with James Patterson, Grabenstein has co-authored several standalone novels and six more middle grade series. Their book I Funny, in the I Funny series, won the 2014 Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award.