Full Moon Soup: The Fall of the Hotel Splendide

As the chef at the Hotel Splendide takes his first sip of soup, strange things begin to happen involving scary monsters and horrible mishaps

Grade 4 Up-- A new contender in the race to win the hearts and minds of children who love to pore over the complex, packed pictures of such illustrators as Martin Handford and Graeme Base. There is a story in this wordless book, but no simple straight-line narrative. Readers are presented with a cutaway side view of the grand Hotel Splendide and surrounding countryside, in brightly colored elaborate cartoon style, as the moon begins to rise and the staff prepares for the evening. Page after page show the same rooms, as a cook turns into a werewolf, ghosts emerge from the attic, lovers fall off the balcony, figures emerge from picture frames, and a space ship looms ever closer to disaster. The appeal is to older children (the bathroom scenes feature three ill-fated folk, but avoid the scatological depths). The book is fun and should find fans. --Sally T. Margolis, Park Ridge Public Library, IL
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The baroque goings-on at the Hotel Splendide demonstrate what might happen if the lunatic Monty Python crew were let loose in the Twilight Zone. This wordless book's large format and exceptionally detailed illustrations reveal an exposed section of the grand hostelry, allowing the reader to function as combination sleuth and voyeur. The imaginative tour de force begins when the chief cook samples a suspicious-looking pot of soup in his basement kitchen, and the entire cast of quirky characters is affected. Separate scenarios are enacted in the various rooms; the mayhem escalates to a fever pitch as all within are besieged by a motley assortment of ghosts, space aliens, wild animals and--ever to the rescue--the local constabulary. The literally smashing finale is truly over the top: the real culprit may or may not be exposed in the endpapers. The bill of fare at this loopy lodging offers several chuckles, a shiver or two and a challenge to tantalize even fans of the hard-to-find Waldo--though repeated viewings will be necessary for total digestion. Ages 6-up.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

For Waldo fans, another oversize wordless book to pore over. Seen in a cross-section of a country hotel from crowded attic to crypt under the kitchen stairs, the Splendide houses more than a score of players, amusingly summarized in ``before'' and ``after'' endpapers. As the action begins, all is normal--guests are arriving as the staff bustles about--including the cook, tasting his chartreuse soup. Suddenly, he goes berserk and becomes a werewolf, while all over the building other things also go madly awry: a robber lets out a vampire, ghosts appear in the attic, portraits misbehave, a lover tries to jump from a balcony. Meanwhile, a spaceship gets ever closer until it collides with the hotel, which now also becomes the site of a flood, an explosion, and various invasions (e.g., Vikings, Romans, Arabs, a surfing Eskimo, sheep) in the course of its spectacular demise. Tall-tale metaphor for Britain? Anyway, an imaginative riot that should provide hours of entertainment. (Picture book. 5+) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.