Madame Badobedah and the Old Bones by Sophie Dahl – Book Review
Madame Badobedah and the Old Bones by Sophie Dahl – Book Review
- Author – Sophie Dahl
- Publisher – Walker Books
- Release Date – 5th October 2023
- Pages – 48
- ISBN 13 – 978-1406384420
- Format – ebook, hardcover, audio
- Star Rating – 4
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Synopsis
Mabel lives with her parents in The Mermaid Hotel, by the sea. Mabel likes to keep an eye on the comings and goings of all the guests, particularly their most interesting guest and Mabel’s best friend, Madame Badobedah. Madame Badobedah has pirouetted through pyramids, skated across rivers, swum with mermaids and even helped a Triceratops with a toothache.
In this new adventure, the duo set off on a mission to the Natural History Museum. And, just maybe, they will meet a dinosaur along the way…
Review by Stacey
The second instalment in the Madame Badobedah series reintroduces us to adventurous young Mabel who lives with her parents at the Mermaid Hotel.
In this second edition, Mabel and the eccentric long-term guest of the hotel, Madame Badobedah, are exploring and having a fabulous time, including larking and a trip to the Natural History Museum.
The story is wonderfully told and the intergenerational relationship between little Mabel and the much older Madame Badobedah is charmingly portrayed.
Madame Badobedah and the Old Bones is quite wordy so although from the outside it might look like a young children’s picture book, it most certainly isn’t. Plus, whilst suitable for a bedtime story, it is not a quick read. It also has a nostalgic feel to it.
The illustrations are dispersed throughout the text and are vibrant and colourful. Overall, the story is engaging, and the plot offers delightful entertainment from beginning to end.
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Sophie Dahl
Sophie Dahl is the bestselling author of four books for adults, and three for children, and the writer of two BBC2 prime-time shows. Sophie’s first book for children, Madame Badobedah, was published by Walker Books in 2019. Her second, The Worst Sleepover in the World was published in November 2021. Madame Badobedah was nominated for a Greenaway Medal, selected as one of both The Guardian’s and The Sunday Time’s Children’s Books of the Year in 2019, and in the US, it was one of Amazon’s Best Children’s books of 2020, and was awarded both a Junior Library Guild of America and a Parent’s Choice Gold Award. The sequel to Madame Badobedah, Madame Badobedah and The Old Bones was published in October 2023.
Dahl has written non-fiction essays for US Vogue, Vogue, The New York Times, The Guardian and The Sunday Times. She has judged the Women’s Prize for Fiction and Vogue’s Young Talent Contest. She is also a contributing editor and monthly columnist at House and Garden magazine.
