An appealing, humorous introduction to a legendary hotel through a cat’s eyes.
In Martini’s debut children’s book, illustrated by Mongiardo (Cosmo’s Crave and Guppy Gall, 2012), a cat tells her story of her life at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City.
Ever since 1932, when a stray cat took up residence in the famous Algonquin Hotel, there has always been a “resident feline” there. Actor John Barrymore named the first one “Hamlet,” and ever since, all the Algonquin’s male cats have had that name, and the females, for unknown reasons, have all been named “Matilda.” Here, the most recent Matilda speaks for herself and tells her story. (Matilda is based on a real cat, but the Algonquin staffers in the book are wholly fictional.) As any good cat would be, Matilda is entirely pleased with her situation: she lives in a hotel “which is in the center of New York City, which is in the center of the world which means that I am in the center of it all,” she says. When visitors arrive, “I greet them by saying, ‘Welcome to my castle—I am your queen.’ ” She goes on to introduce readers to her underlings, including the doorman, concierge, manager, and her personal assistant Hadley (an homage to real-life caretaker Alice De Almeida). Readers learn of Matilda’s daily routine around the hotel, accompanied by Mongiardo’s lively line drawings, which often supply wry, silent commentary. For example, when Matilda says, “I ensure that our guests enjoy themselves,” the illustration shows a dismayed guest dropping his martini as the cat jumps into his lap. Special events include Matilda’s birthday party, featuring cake and a fashion show (on a catwalk, of course). The feline also describes some of the history of the Algonquin and its famous Round Table of writers and actors. Overall, Martini’s text and Mongiardo’s illustrations capture the particular charm of cats well and nicely evoke Matilda’s big personality and her expectation of worship. Young readers may also enjoy learning something about what goes on in big hotels, such as how a doorman does his job and how a concierge helps guests. The book also offers additional pages (“About the Algonquin Hotel” and “About the Algonquin Cat”) that give useful background on the hotel’s history, the Algonquin cat tradition, and how children may connect with Matilda online.
An appealing, humorous introduction to a legendary hotel through a cat’s eyes.Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-942545-44-6
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
The Buehners retell the old familiar tale with a jump-roping, rhyme-spouting Goldilocks. When their porridge proves to be too hot to eat, the bear family goes for a stroll. Meanwhile, Goldilocks comes knocking to find a jump-roping friend. This Goldilocks does not simply test out the chairs: “Big chair, middle chair, little chair, too, / Somebody’s here to bounce on you!” And so continues the old favorite, interspersed with Goldilocks’s jump-rope verse. When she escapes through the bedroom window, none of the characters are sure what sort of creature they have just encountered. The Buehner’s homey illustrations perfectly capture the facial expressions of the characters, and lend a particular kind of mischief to Goldilocks. Readers may miss the message on the copyright page, but hidden within each picture are three creatures, instantly adding challenge and appeal. Cute, but there’s not quite enough new here to make it a must. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-8037-2939-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2007
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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