Madame Badobedah

A timeless story celebrating friendship and imagination, from an exciting new voice in children's literature. 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. Then one day a particularly in-ter-est-ing old lady comes to stay. There is something very suspicious about her, with her growly voice and her heavy trunks and her beady-eyed tortoise. And why does no one know her REAL name? There can only be one answer, Mabel decides ... this guest is a SUPERVILLAIN.

...this quirky, imaginative story is a delight… Vividly illustrated, this is a witty and gently moving debut., Dahl’s granddaughter makes her children’s debut with this gentle tale… “I really hate bitter books, and bitter people,” Sophie Dahl has said. There is no bitterness here, and nothing too revolting – but there is plenty of charm., It is a splendidly entertaining story, just right for younger readers who are launching out into a larger text, and Lauren O’Hara has responded to it with huge dash and imagination., ...it’s swashbuckling and mysterious whilst still being very easy to follow. I can’t recommend it enough as a gift for a godchild or a niece or nephew, it’s a beautiful, beautiful kids’ book and I hope to read lots more of Madame Badobedah, …visit a seaside B&B in Sophie Dahl’s Madame Badobedah (Walker), illustrated with airy, light-hearted charm by Lauren O’Hara. Mettlesome Mabel encounters a suspicious guest: a flamboyant old lady with piles of fascinating luggage, toffee-apple-red hair and rude, secretive manners. Is she right to guess that Madam Badobedah is a super-villain? This longer-form picture book, tapping astutely into the imaginative life of an adventurous child, is lovely both to read and to listen to.

Sophie Dahl is the bestselling author of four books for adults, and two for children. The Worst Sleepover in the World follows her children’s debut, the critically acclaimed, Madame Badobedah. 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. Madame Badobedah, was nominated for a Greenaway Medal, selected as one of both The Guardian's and The Sunday Times' Children’s Books of the Year in 2019, and in the US it was awarded a Parent’s Choice Gold Award. @mssophiedahlLauren O’Hara is an illustrator from the north of England. As a child she loved reading fairy tales, painting insects and listening to her grandmother’s stories. She studied art and illustration at Kingston University and then designed window displays and props for films. Lauren’s career as an illustrator began when she and her sister, Natalia worked together on a picture book, Hortense and the Shadow. This was published in 2017 and followed in 2018 by The Bandit Queen. Lauren lives in a converted church in Dublin, Ireland with her partner, their cat Ida and assorted ghosts.