Welcome to Wonderland #1: Home Sweet Motel

Welcome to Wonderland #1: Home Sweet Motel

By Chris Grabenstein

35 ratings 47 reviews 15 followers
Book 1 of 4 in the  Welcome to Wonderland Series
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 4 - 8Grades 3 - 8V4.540620
“Outrageous hijinks and nonstop hilarity—five-stars!” —Lincoln Peirce, author of the Big Nate series

From the bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and co-author with James Patterson of I Funny, House of Robots, and Treasure Hunters, comes a hilarious illustrated series about all the wacky things that happen when you live in a motel!

 
Eleven-year-old P. T. Wilkie may be the greatest storyteller alive. But he knows one thing for a fact: the Wonderland Motel is the best place a kid could ever live! All-you-can-eat poolside ice cream! A snack machine in the living room! A frog slide! A giant rampaging alligator! (Okay, that last one may or may not be made up.) There’s only one thing the Wonderland doesn’t have, though—customers. And if the Wonderland doesn’t get them soon, P.T. and his friend Gloria may have to say goodbye to their beloved motel forever.
 
They need to think BIG. They need to think BOLD. They need an OUTRAGEOUS plan. Luckily for them, Gloria is a business GENIUS, and OUTRAGEOUS is practically P.T.’s middle name. With Gloria’s smarts and P.T.’s world-famous stories and schemes, there’s got to be a way to save the Wonderland!
 
BONUS: Includes fun extras like P. T. Wilkie’s outrageous (and sometimes useful) things you learn living in a motel. Installment 1: How to say “Help! The toilet is clogged!” in over twenty languages!

Here's What People are saying about Welcome to Wonderland!

“Outrageous hijinks and nonstop hilarity—five-stars! Kids who check into this madcap motel will want to stay forever!” —Lincoln Peirce, author of the Big Nate series

"So funny I fell off my bed!"--Izzy B., age 10

"Classic Grabenstein. The mystery should satisfy Grabenstein’s “Mr. Lemoncello” followers, and the humor and visuals will appeal to fans of his collaborations with James Patterson. This new series should be a hit."—School Library Journal

“A  delight. P.T. is a hoot and a half. A funny, madcap dash. Grabenstein . . .  threads in a mystery that blooms in the last act and that puts this particular read over the top."—Kirkus Reviews 

“Charm galore. Easy and breezy, this well-paced novel . . . belongs in the hands of any readers wanting their bad guys bad, their good guys great, and a little of Wonderland’s promised fun in the sun.”The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books  
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780553536027
ISBN-10: 0553536028
Published on 10/4/2016
Binding: Hardcover
Number of pages: 304

Book Reviews (49)

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In this super funny book, P.T. Must save his families motel and starts thinking up ideas to make money with Gloria, a guest at the motel. But when they get wrapped up in a jewel heist with a 1500 reward for the return of the jewels, P.T. And Gloria must save the jewels, and save the motel.

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this was a great 1!

ACreadunicorne ACreadunicorne

I really enjoy this book because 1. This book sometimes makes me sad, and I really like enjoy books like that. 2. This book makes me laugh, like a lot. I started laughing so hard, my mom thought that I was insane. 3. I really enjoy the illustrations in this book because they make me laugh, and because at home I really only have books with no pictures just words, and I like a break once in a while you know what I mean? What else can I say abut this book? It's just amazing. Anyway, have a great day everyone!

This is a great book about a motel in Florida on the line of being bankrupt. Its a great book if you like business related things. has lots of twists and turns and is a great fiction book. Its more like nonfiction though, because it seems like a real story!

One of my favorite others is back, and starting a new series! Chris Grabenstein's Welcome to Wonderland #1: Home Sweet Motel is a page-turning, ups and downs sort of book. It is about a boy named P.T who's family owns a motel, but then realizes they have a balloon payment of $100,000 that must be paid within a month. When things are looking bad, he meets a business partner and new best friend- Gloria who is staying at the motel with her father, a sports tv reporter. Will they pay back the bank back in time? Read on as they encounter bad guys, a real estate guy, and a banker who could change their lives forever.

Eleven-year-old P.T. Wilkie lives at the Wonderland Motel that his mother and grandfather own, and he happens to be great at weaving tall tales. The Wonderland Motel is the best hotel ever in his opinion. Not only is there ice cream and a pool, but there is a wonderful collection of unique statues - including a giant frog slide and a huge dinosaur statue. But sadly the Wonderland Motel is in financial trouble since what they don't have is customers. P.T. Wilkie and his new friend Gloria (who happens to know all things business) are determined to find a way to save the Wonderland before it's too late. And the way to do it may just be to make-up some stories. This book was funny and unique and had wonderful characters. I recommend this book to elementary and middle grade students, and some older kids would enjoy it as well. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

This book is really funny! I read it because I like his other books, and I wasn't disappointed. The humor in this book just keeps coming and the characters are pretty cool, too. I don't remember a lot of the story, only that it made me laugh a lot.

This book seems like a fun comical story to read. The cover of this book already looks like a great kids book, a nice, relaxing story to read during the summer. I am interested in seeing what this book is about at why everybody recommends and LOVES it! I can't wait to start reading.

Welcome to Wonderland #1: Home Sweet Motel is a book about the wonder world that Walt wilkey made in the 1963's i think and the "ice"that was hidden in the train. its a very fun book to read.

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