The Incredible Hotel
The Incredible Hotel
Kate Davies, illus Isabelle Follath
Frances Lincoln Childrens Books
ISBN 9781786031969
A stunning, nostalgic picture book about a beautiful hotel and the people who stay, live and work there. Perfect for children 4+. If you ever go to great city of Delaunay, take a left at the Duchess's palace and cross the Bridge of Spires, and here you will find The Incredible Hotel.
Everything runs like clockwork, thanks to Stefan the kitchen porter, who brews the coffee every morning, and dreams of being a chef. Until the morning of the Grand Ball, when a fire starts in the kitchen just as the Duchess of Delaunay arrives... can Stefan save the day?
With a style that evokes Wes Anderson-esque imaginary worlds, this is a timeless tale to read again and again from the award winning illustrator of 'JOY'. Each time you read it you will notice new details - look out for the cat and mouse hiding on every page, who have their own little story to tell!
Filled with visually stunning, detailed illustrations by new talent Isabelle Follath, The Incredible Hotel is a book children will love poring over as they look at the delicious food the hotel has to offer. Kate Davies tells the story of the running of The Incredible Hotel&, whilst teaching us the important value of mutual respect.
If you ever go to the great city of Delaunay, take a left at the Duchess's palace and cross the Bridge of Spires and there you will find The Incredible Hotel. Everything runs like clockwork, thanks to Stefan the kitchen porter. But on the morning of the day of the Grand Ball, a fire starts in the kitchen, just as the Duchess of Delaunay arrives.
Should Stefan save the day? Will Stefan save the day? What would you do? Have you ever had a moral dilemma? This book sparks much discussion about the morals and values the characters in this books hold.
This book is designed to be read repeatedly and held close to be able to notice all of the detail on every page, such as the illustrations of the cat and mouse hiding on each page who have their own story to tell. The sublime profiterole tower is certainly one not to be missed!
Picture book / Ages 4+ / Reviewed by Jessica Bunney, teacher
Reviews
The Incredible Hotel
Kate Davies, illus Isabelle Follath
Review
A wonderful tale about always following your dreams and believing in yourself, no matter what.
Stefan the porter wakes up at 5am every day to wake up everyone else in order to begin the day working in 'The Incredible Hotel'. Stefan dreams of baking cakes, but he isn't allowed to bake as his job is to run around fetching, carrying and completing the errands all in the quiet of the shadows. No-one seems to notice poor Stefan as he fetches and carries, mops and peels potatoes, all the while dreaming of baking cakes.
But one day, a prestigious guest is expected who demands 'the tallest profiterole tower in history'. When the Chef of the Hotel begins to panic about creating the profiterole tower, Stefan offers some advice, only to be told, 'You're just a kitchen porter' and is commanded to leave. To prove that he can do it, Stefan goes home and creates his own profiterole tower. But on the morning of the prestigious guest's arrival, Stefan isn't there to begin the daily routine and everything begins to go wrong. With the kitchen burned down, The Incredible Hotel smelling of fire and no profiterole tower, the Hotel panics when the guest arrives. However, Stefan saves the day and earns himself a promotion as the new pastry chef and the respect of all the staff in The Incredible Hotel.
This is a heart-warming story that has a strong message of never giving up. My children discussed with me the resilience and kindness of Stefan when he turned up to help at the Hotel, despite being shouted at and told to never come back. Stefan is a hardworking character and his beliefs in his ability enable him to follow his dreams and keep trying. The message was clear and one that my four and six year old understood clearly.
One thing my daughter particularly enjoyed was turning the page and discovering the great profiterole tower that Stefan creates, it looks absolutely delightfully delicious; this page will certainly get your mouth watering.
With clear and colourful illustrations, this is a picture book that will stand out in your classroom or bookshelf. A lovely, thoughtful story with lots of talking points, although it did make me feel hungry by the time I had finished reading it!
Picture book / Ages 4+ / Reviewed by Joanna Hewish, teacher
