Madame Badobedah and the Old Bones

Madame Badobedah and the Old Bones by Lauren O'Hara, Sophie Dahl
Published by Walker Books US on 2024
ISBN: 1536233560
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

This is the second picture book by Dahl about this mysterious, glamorous old lady and her young adventurer friend, Mabel. Both present as white. Mabel describes Madame Badobedah (“it rhymes with ‘ooh la la’”) as an “ancient villain” who resides at the Mermaid Hotel managed by Mabel’s parents, and where Mabel and her parents live. Mabel and Madame Badobedah have extraordinary adventures together, fueled by the magic of story-telling and imagination. 

In this outing, they dress for the part – black velvet catsuit (Madame B) and oversized trench coat (Mabel)  – and crawl through the back of the magical closet in Room 32. All it takes is knocking three times on a rafter and a silent wish on a special coin to whisk them to the Museum of Natural History. There they encounter many surprising characters, including an iguanodon and triceratops. Upon first glance, the cover struck me as overly twee. However, the illustrations, in partnership with the book, are whimsical and clever. 

It is divided into four parts, slightly longer than the standard picture book story, but for intrepid adventurers, it will end too soon. Strongly recommended for library collections. 

Reviewed by Deanna Contrino, SLMS/MLIS, Young School Librarian, Saco

four-stars