Poison Pages

Library of Doom

by Michael Dahl, Martin Blanco (Illustrator)

A young woman finds a bizarre book on a crowded bus.  After reading a few pages, she becomes trapped inside the book itself.  The pages spread out like an endless plain.  A mysterious stranger known only as the Librarian offers to guide her to safety.  But even he is vulnerable to the pages most potent snare, the millions of letters covering the paper were penned with poisonous ink!

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Juvenile

Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Michael Dahl is the author of over 200 books for children and young adults, including the acclaimed Finnegan Zwake mystery series and The Library of Doom. His works have earned Edgar and Anthony Award nominations and national design honors. As Editorial Director at Stone Arch Books, he champions engaging, award-winning stories that inspire young readers everywhere.

He also writes under aliases Chris Carey, Rick Thomas, and Mark Ziegler.

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another in the same series as The Eye in the Graveyard by Dahl. This one was quite a bit better. A young woman gets sucked into a book. There are a lot of inventive little elements to the storytelling here and I won't give them away. These are meant for young readers, probably 8 to 9 or so, I guess. Not a lot of words, fully illustrated, a little bit creepy. I liked this one quite a bit. It would be good to read it to a kid.

[Krystin | TheF*ckingTwist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book Blog | Bookstagram

Would have given anything as a child to literally get trapped in a book, à la The Pagemaster. This wasn't as fun though.



⭐⭐ | 2 stars

[Ethan Stefko · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting. Kind of weird. and kind of cool.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a creepy little book. I stumbled on this in the kids section, and giving the reading level I can understand why it was put there. But it truly belongs in YA. The pictures are eerie, and the plot alone doesn't work for me considering you're trying to encourage people to read books, not scare them to death. The premise that reading will suck you into a book and trap you there where you might die...? Not a message I want to share with kids.

On the other hand, maybe this is how it feels when you're struggling with reading. Maybe books are threatening when you really think about it. So perhaps this book is right on? I will look at more in the series and see what happens next.

But I still don't think it belonged in the kids section of the library....

[Charles Frierman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short and to the point about being lost in a book and how dangerous that can be. I like that it has a creepy twilight zone feel to it, and yet keeps things very simple.

Favorite character: The Librarian
Favorite moment: The girl realizing she is in the book.


score 7/10

[Ken Finlay · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's odd, very odd, and mercifully short. It took me two minutes to read and most of that was looking at the pictures.
I really can't see the point of it - then again I am not a child learning to read.

[Deborah C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Hi-Low book for grades 3-5.

[Drew Constance · Rating 3 out of 5]

My thoughts on Poison Pages

I picked this up knowing it was going to be a short read. I found it in the young adult section and I would certainly place it there with its dark undertone. At first I felt it would be for younger children, but I think ages 11 and up should be fine. The illustrations are pretty decent and the concept of the story is interesting, plotted out in a full blown novel I would have loved it, but its a decent read. I read it in 5 minutes no jokes, but I did like the concept of the book that can cause death. If you are looking for a quick read or are a reluctant reader or know of one, send the book their way. For me it was just interesting.

[Tomiko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner in this series of high interest/low vocabulary series aimed at struggling readers. It is actually a marvel to me that the author/illustrator team can create such imaginative and creepy stories given the restrictions they have regarding length, wording, age appropriateness, etc. These books remind me a bit of old Twilight Zone episodes, where they build suspense without resorting to graphic violence.

[Tychelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young lady finds a weird book on a seat on the bus called The Lost Readers, and soon she is inside the book. She sees all kinds of creepy people stuck to the pages and finds the Librarian who helps her out of the book. When she appears back on the bus, she wonders why the Librarian didn't jump, and at the bottom of the page she sees: "There are more lost readers who need my help."

[Callum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, very good. i like all the library of doom books they are all very good.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief read - would be great as read aloud to inspire creative writing and word play.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short book.

*No Favorite Passage*

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The girl on the bus looks dead. The people trapped on the pages of books are really spooky.