Madame Badobedah
by Sophie Dahl (Author) Lauren O'Hara (Illustrator)
Who is Madame Badobedah? Mabel sets out to prove that an eccentric new hotel guest is really a supervillain in this witty storybook about an intergenerational friendship.
There's a strange new guest at the Mermaid Hotel -- a very old lady with a growly voice, bags stuffed with jewelry and coins and curiosities, and a beady-eyed pet tortoise. Mabel, whose parents run the hotel, is suspicious. Who is this "Madame Badobedah" (it rhymes with "Oo la la") who has come to stay indefinitely and never has any visitors? To find out, Mabel puts on her spy costume and observes the new guest. Conclusion? She must be a secret supervillain hiding out from the law. The grown-ups think Madame Badobedah is a bit rude -- and sad -- but when she invites "dahlink" Mabel for a cup of forbidden tea and a game of pirates, the two begin a series of imaginary adventures together, and Mabel realizes that first impressions can sometimes be very wrong.
Conjuring two quirky heroines that young readers will love, Sophie Dahl adds her talented voice to a grand tradition of books that celebrate the alliance of the old and young in the face of humdrum adults, while Lauren O'Hara's illustrations are as packed with intriguing details as Madame Badobedah's suitcases.
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Mabel's parents run the Mermaid Hotel, and she knows all the building's secrets: "I don't have brothers and sisters; I have rooms," she explains. When a mysterious guest arrives, Mabel wants to know all her secrets, too. The newcomer, a sharp-tongued elderly lady with a feather boa, has many pets and a mountain of luggage, and she calls everyone "darlink." She is, Mabel concludes, a villainess whom she nicknames Madame Badobedah. The girl sets up a spy operation to find out the truth about the enigmatic figure--until her ruse is exposed. Villainess or no, Madame Badobedah makes excellent company. "That bed of mine is a pirate ship," she tells Mabel. "I call it the Not-So-Jolly Roger. Shall we set sail, Captain Mabel?" Sparky dialogue in Dahl's children's debut charms; watercolor vignettes and spreads by O'Hara (Hortense and the Shadow) fuse spun-sugar whimsy with theatrical drama (the Not-So-Jolly Roger surges across the waves toward the reader, with Madame Badobedah at the helm). Soon Mabel feels that she can share the Mermaid Hotel's best secret with her. Dahl's yarn unspools with impressive assurance as two strong female characters grapple with each other, and both emerge victorious. Ages 5-8. (Apr.)
Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
She has written nonfiction essays for Vogue, British Vogue, the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Sunday Times (London). She has judged the Women's Prize for Fiction and British Vogue's Young Talent Contest. She is also a contributing editor and monthly columnist at House & Garden magazine.
Madame Badobedah was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal, received a Parents' Choice Gold Award, and was selected as a 2019 Best Children's Book by both the Guardian and the Sunday Times (London). Lauren O'Hara is the illustrator of Hortense and the Shadow and The Bandit Queen. She lives in a converted church in Dublin, Ireland.
JUV028000 - Juvenile Fiction | Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
JUV068000 - Juvenile Fiction | Travel
JUV039270 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Strangers
Imagination
Families
Hotels, motels, etc
Hotels
