The Island of Dr. Libris

By: Chris Grabenstein

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

New from the author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and coauthor of the I Funny series with James Patterson! Celebrate the power of imagination with this action-packed New York Times best seller that shows that sometimes the real story starts after you close the book!

What if your favorite characters came to life? Billy’s spending the summer in a lakeside cabin that belongs to the mysterious Dr. Libris. But something strange is going on. Besides the security cameras everywhere, there’s Dr. Libris’s private bookcase. Whenever Billy opens the books inside, he can hear sounds coming from the island in the middle of the lake. The clash of swords. The twang of arrows. Sometimes he can even feel the ground shaking. It’s almost as if the stories he’s reading are coming to life! But that’s impossible...isn’t it?

©2015 Chris Grabenstein (P)2015 Listening Library

Critic Reviews

"Chris Grabenstein gleefully plunders great works of literature for his cast of secondary characters...a madcap mash-up that 8-to-12 year olds will want to devour in big gulps." (The Wall Street Journal)

"Grabenstein follows up his best-selling Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library (2013) with another playful title paying homage to classic works of literature. Effortlessly readable and a whole lot of fun." (Booklist Reviews)

"Kids will enjoy the cartoonish mayhem, especially given Grabenstein's breezy narrative voice and jaunty wit...as in "Lemoncello", there is a winning generosity and sweetness to the story's telling." (The New York Times)

Just "Meh"

I usually agree with the reviews of the books we purchase and listen to, but in this case my whole family (kids ages 9 and 12 plus adults) would rate this book just so-so. It's not very exciting; the narrator speaks a lot more slowly than many other narrators; the story just isn't all that compelling. It sort of reminds me of a slightly older version of any of the Magic Treehouse books. If you didn't find those boring and predictable, you might like this one. We are slogging through it but are all looking forward to it being over.

Really like this for older elementary students

Love how the book includes classic literature that kids might have heard of but never thought to read.., and will want to after listening to this story. We see friendship, parents having trouble, bullies and much more. Think this would appeal to boys since main characters are boys, but girls will like also. Love how one's imagination can get one into situations that require quick thinking. Highly recommend audio.

Phenomenal - highly recommend!

Captures the imagination and never let's go! the characters were incredible and the story flowed so smooth. Twists and turns led to a great ending. Astounding author, my son's favorite, and one of mine as well!

Bedtime best

This is the best book for me at bedtime, and it's a great audiobook to listen to over and over again.

Extraordinary!

This is the first review I've written, either print or audio. I had always wanted to study children's literature, but I ended up in the law and business. But now that I'm semi-retired, I can finally pursue my passion. This is exactly the type of book that parents should play in the car on the morning commute to school/work. (By the way, I don't have children, so take this with a grain of salt!). But this audiobook brought back my own journey into the wonderful world of literary masterpieces as one author made me want to read a tangentially related work. That the narrator was so skilled was a pure pleasure! Again, it reminded me of being read to as a child that made me eager to be able to read as much and as long as I wanted. And so began my love of books! Read or listen to this, not only for your child, but for yourself as well. My thanks to the author and narrator!

We loved it

I listened to this book with my two boys (5 & 7) and we all enjoyed it. Chris Grabenstein is a master of of bringing all sorts of literature to life and inspiring a love of reading. My eldest says this is one of the best books ever. We highly recommend!

Captivating

The Island of Dr. Libris help our attention the whole time! Every one of our kids begged me to keep driving so they could keep listening!

Poor story, fantastic narrating

Overly simplistic story with boring, bland characters is made much more enjoyable by the fantastic narration of Kirby Heyborne. He does a great job narrating fast-paced action and does wonderful voices.

Great book

Great book. Whole family enjoyed it. I would Highly recommend it. It was a very fun story.

Creative and captivating!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely yes! As a teacher, I am in love with this book. This novel uses other novels story lines as escape tools! My kids wanted to read the other books mentioned in this book as soon as we were finished. The creativity and depth to connect the elements in this plot line were astounding.

What did you like best about this story?

How well thought out the plot was. Each element connected to each other perfectly and it became a giant puzzle you were racing to solve.

Any additional comments?

This author has another book Escape From Lemonchello's Library that was equally if not slightly more enchanting and engaging than this one.