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
What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-83705-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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