by Xavier Bonet
Rolene was peering at them, one eyebrow raised. “Is everything OK?” she asked. “Mr. McLeary?”
“Just fine,” Javier said. “How are you?”
“Oddly enough, I feel as if a weight has been lifted from my shoulders,” Rolene said. “I’m not sure how to explain it.” The woman stood up and gave them a radiant smile. She turned to the main doors. “Oh, look!” she cried. “The sun is shining, and the sky is bright blue. What a beautiful day! I think I’ll take the rest of the day off. Is that OK with you, Mr. McLeary?”
Javier couldn’t help but smile in return. “Yes, yes, of course,” he said. “I’m just happy you’re feeling better. C’mon, everyone. We should get back to work.”
The others headed back to their book carts and reshelving. But Cal waited. He ran over to Rolene as she was pushing open the front doors, squinting at the bright sunlight.
“Your name isn’t really Rolene, is it?” he said.
Rolene smiled again. Then she held her finger to her mouth. “Shhh,” she said.
* * *
After he finished his book cart, Cal caught up with the rest of the group at a table in the common area.
Javier stood at the head of the table, looking a little worried. “So, that was a bit more . . . interesting than I was expecting,” he said. “I know you all understand the library and its . . . changes, but I can understand if you want to end your participation in the Page Program after today.”
Cal looked around at the other Pages. But something caught his eye, and he turned. A small, golden bug that resembled a beetle skittered up one of the book carts. He wasn’t sure, but it looked like there was a skull pattern on the bug’s back.
“No way,” Cal said. “I’ll be here next Saturday. I mean, who knows what’s going to happen next?”
Inside the Midnight Mind of . . .
Edgar Allan Poe
When the Midnight clock chimes, the library transforms. Javier says each of these transformations takes the library “inside the mind of a book or writer.” In this adventure, the Pages enter the mind of Edgar Allan Poe, the master of horror. Here are few of the bits floating around in that batty and bloodcurdling brain!
The Raven
The spooky bird comes from Poe’s famous poem, “The Raven.” Poe admitted he was inspired by a chatty raven named Grip from Charles Dickens’ book Barnaby Rudge. Grip was based on Dickens’ own pet. When the bird died, Dickens had him stuffed. Grip can now be seen in the Free Library in Philadelphia.
The Bucket Man
The Bucket Man builds a wall of books and mortar, blocking the way to the Morse code book. In Poe’s tale, “The Black Cat,” a man bricks up his dead wife and cat in a wall of his cellar. With a mixture of “mortar, sand, and hair,” he glues the bricks together. The police discover the crime when they hear “a wailing shriek” behind the wall. Does it come from the dead woman or the mysterious cat?
Lenore
The narrator in Poe’s poem, “The Raven,” cannot stop thinking about his dead girlfriend, Lenore. Poe had written a poem thirteen years earlier called simply “Lenore” (I guess he liked that name) and she’s dead in that poem too. In fact, there is a line that goes “weep now or never more!”
Glossary
anagram (AN-uh-gram) —
a word or phrase made by rearranging the letters in another word or phrase
bloodshot (BLUHD-shaht) —
eyes that are red and irritated
diagram (DYE-uh-gram) —
a drawing or plan that explains something with the use of arrows, colors, shapes, and other things
eternity (i-TUR-ni-tee) —
a seemingly endless amount of time
fiend (feend) —
an evil person
jester (JES-tur) —
a professional joker in medieval courts
masquerade (mas-kuh-RADE) —
a party at which all the people dress up in costumes
Morse code (mors kode) —
a communication system that uses light or sound in patterns of dots and dashes to represent letters and numbers
mythology (mi-THAH-luh-jee) —
a group of myths, especially ones that belong to a particular culture or religion
participation (pahr-tis-uh-PAY-shuhn) —
the act of joining with others to do something
tome (tome) —
a large book
Discussion Questions
Edgar Allan Poe’s world in the Midnight Library is one of the more dangerous places the Pages have had to visit. Which of the troubles they faced do you think was the most threatening?
In Poe’s story, the Red Death is an illness, but in the Midnight Library, it’s a physical monster. Why do you think they’re different?
Rolene feels better in the real world after the Pages help Lenore. How do you think Lenore and Rolene are connected?
Writing Prompts
The raven communicates with Cal and the group through Morse code. Look up a Morse code alphabet and try to write some words down, such as your name or a short sentence.
Imagine the narrator of the poem still wants to see Lenore. Put yourself in the narrator’s shoes and write a letter back to Cal explaining your feelings.
Edgar Allan Poe was famous for writing poems. Pick a character or monster from the story and write a poem from their perspective.
Michael Dahl Presents
Michael Dahl has written about werewolves, magicians, and superheroes. He loves funny books, scary books, and mysterious books. Every Michael Dahl Presents book is chosen by Michael himself and written by an author he loves. The books are about favorite subjects like monster aliens, haunted houses, farting pigs, or magical powers that go haywire.
About the Author
Thomas Kingsley Troupe has been making up stories ever since he was in short pants. As an “adult” he’s the author of a whole lot of books for kids. When he’s not writing, he enjoys movies, biking, taking naps, and hunting ghosts as a member of the Twin Cities Paranormal Society. Raised in “Nordeast” Minneapolis, he now lives in Woodbury, Minnesota, with his awe-inspiring family.
About the Illustrator
Xavier Bonet is an illustrator and comic book artist who lives in Barcelona, Spain, with his wife and two children. He loves all retro stuff, video games, scary stories, and Mediterranean food, and cannot spend one hour without a pencil in his hand.
Michael Dahl Presents is published by Stone Arch Books, A Capstone Imprint
1710 Roe Crest Drive, North Mankato, Minnesota 56003
www.mycapstone.com
© 2019 Stone Arch Books. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Troupe, Thomas Kingsley, author. | Bonet, Xavier, 1979- illustrator.
Title: The lost Lenore / by Thomas Kingsley Troupe ; illustrated by Xavier Bonet.
Description: North Mankato, Minnesota : Stone Arch Books, [2019] | Series: Michael Dahl presents: Midnight library 4D | Summary: “At T. Middleton Nightingale City Library, when the old, broken clock strikes twelve, the library is transformed into something out of an author’s mind--and today the volunteer pages find themselves in the middle of Edgar Allan Poe’s imagination where monsters lurk, and a raven is telling them to find Lenore if they want to restore the library to normal.”--Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018046385 | ISBN 9781496578938 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781496578976 (ebook pdf) | ISBN 9781496590060 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849. Raven--Juvenile fiction. | Public libraries--Juvenile fiction. | Library pages--Juvenile fiction. | Ravens--Juvenile fiction. | Books and reading--Juvenile fiction. | Horror tales. | CYAC: Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849--Fiction. | Characters
in literature--Fiction. | Libraries--Fiction. | Library pages--Fiction. | Ravens--Fiction. | Books and reading--Fiction. | Horror stories. | LCGFT: Horror fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.T7538 Lq 2019 | DDC 813.6 [Fic] --dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018046385