Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics

What motivates Marjory to steal the book from Mr. Lemoncello’s library? Why does she later regret this action, and how does she try to make up for it? In the end, is Marjory being portrayed as a good person or a bad person?

How does Grabenstein use foreshadowing to give the reader hints about what Mr. Lemoncello’s real intentions for the Library Olympics are?

Mr. Lemoncello’s Library is not like most ordinary libraries. What makes it unusual and special? How does this setting help support the theme of The Importance of Libraries?

How does Andrew change over the course of the story? How do Mr. Lemoncello, Kyle and his team, Andrew himself, and the Lemoncello library all contribute to the change in his character?

Grabenstein’s book uses many examples of a literary device called zeugma. What is this device? How does it relate to the theme of The Joy of Intellectual Challenges? How does it relate to the story’s plot, especially the plot’s reliance on the shifting meaning of the word “champion”?

Some characters love the technology in Mr. Lemoncello’s library, and other characters hate it. What are the two different sets of characters’ arguments about this technology? How does this relate to concerns about real-life libraries and their use of technology? Does Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics fairly present both sides of this argument?

Very early in the story, the solution to one of Mr. Lemoncello’s rebus puzzles is “Librarians are intellectual freedom fighters” (17). How do the book’s plot and characterizations support this idea? How does this idea help support the theme of The Importance of Libraries?

For much of the story, Mr. Lemoncello keeps his real motives hidden from the children competing in his Library Olympics. What other secrets does he keep? Does the story seem to approve or disapprove of his secrecy?