Cover Image: Hotel Fantastic

Hotel Fantastic

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Member Reviews

An unbelievably imaginative and cute story about a hotel which serves a variety of monsters, superheroes, mythical and fairytale creatures of all shapes, sizes, colors, and personalities. From the customized rooms to nightclub, guests are sure to have a spooky good time! But lurking around the corner is a terror known as SOROR-HORRIBILIS!

Adorable and colorful illustrations featuring a variety of fantasy characters (among my favorites have to be the napping ghosts hanging from the clotheslines and the ninja kittens driving a tank). The twist is a super cute ending to a perfect story.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

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Hotel Fantastic truly lives up to its name in this wildly imaginative picture book from author-illustrator Thomas Gibault. Robots, aliens, and mermaids are just a few of the many creatures you’ll see checking in at the hotel lobby or dancing in the basement ballroom. With a clientele that is delightfully absurd and eclectic, Hotel Fantastic is the epitome of unfettered childhood imagination. I defy you to read this book without a huge smile on your face.

Gibault has a wonderful sense of humor and a keen eye for detail, a combination that makes this book demand repeated viewings. Hilarity is hidden in every corner, and the level of care given to the storytelling and characterization is phenomenal. Every conceivable guest need at Hotel Fantastic has been accommodated: Sky Rooms where witches can sleep on their flying broomsticks, Galactic Portals for alien arrivals, valet service for magical carriages and supervehicles…the list goes on.

One of the most impressive aspects of the book — partly because it’s so wonderfully representative of childhood play — is that all these completely different creatures interact organically with each other. In other words, the princesses don’t stay in one corner together and have a tea party while the superheroes fly off to another corner to save the day; no, they all play and have fun and do different things together the way that kids do. Kids know that you’re never just one thing. You can be a princess and a superhero. You can be a mermaid-robot-alien-skydiver, if you want to be (and I do). That’s the fun of it!

The recurring warnings of the monster that may attack at any moment are mysterious and menacing in a breathlessly fun way, with crayon-drawn wanted posters hanging throughout the hotel. The suspense looms larger and larger until the spectacular surprise ending, which will garner plenty of giggles and loud requests to read the story again…with some of the loudest sure to come from the adults in the room.

Hotel Fantastic is a weird and wonderful celebration of childhood playtime, showing kids and reminding grown-ups that there is no limit to what your imagination can do. Author/illustrator Thomas Gibault has managed to bottle pure fun with this picture book, which is sure to put a smile on the face of anyone who reads it.

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This is not a picture book you'll read for the innovative story. The plot is straightforward. This is is a book to pick for the illustrations. Give it to a pre-reader and encourage them to tell you the story. Each page has so much going on, young readers can build their visual interpretation skills.

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Such a cute story! Illustrations are great and catch your eye. They are so many little details to discover everytime you read it. The story line is nice, I don’t want to give away any spoilers but it is a fun book.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

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Hotel Fantastic is a picturebook written and illustrated by Thomas Gibault. Whether you're a robot needing to recharge or a giant looking for extra legroom, the suites in this hotel are designed to cater to each guest's needs. Feeling hungry? Dine at the hotel's world-famous restaurant among princesses and pirates. Need a workout? A fully equipped gym and rooftop swimming pool serve beings of all shapes and sizes. And rest assured that your safety and security are a top priority --- an elite strike team is always at the ready. Pay no attention to the rumors you may have heard --- there's certainly no horrible creature threatening to attack the hotel at any moment.

Hotel Fantastic is a brightly illustrated ad fun picturebook. The majority of the story is detailing the wonders of the grand Hotel Fantastic. The crazy creatures that stay there, work there, and their activities are imaginative and well done. I enjoyed the descriptions and artwork depicting the pool, security team, and infirmary the most- they were amusing and unique. I like that clues to what the lurking evil is, and how it is not all that evil but will certainly bring the story to an end, can be found throughout the story. I like that the ending is a little bit of a twist, but not completely unexpected if readers pay attention to the clues, and think about the uniqueness of the amenities. Most of all, I like that the young boy telling the tale is not rude, mean, or in anyway shamed or embarrassed for playing with something that might go against gender stereotypes. That made me very happy and made me the story as a whole even more.

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'Hotel Fantastic' by Thomas Gibault is a picture book about a hotel destination that may not be for everyone, but can be for anyone.

In a book that reads like a brochure, we are invited to enjoy the amenities of the Hotel Fantastic. From beds to fit any size creature, to Sky Rooms for the airborn guests. There is a gift shop and a restaurant that serves strange food. There are nightclubs and a garage and and infirmary too.

The fun of this book are all the weird creatures that seem to stay at the Hotel Fantastic. From monsters to superheroes to mad scientists, they all seem to be enjoying themselves. The illustrations are lots of fun and have lots of details.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Kids Can Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

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The illustrations in this book were so great! It reads like a hotel brochure. I liked the twist at the end. My 3 year old loved it and really studying all the pictures!

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What a fun and colorful book for children. It is the story of a hotel for monsters, robots and things that go bump in the night. The book goes through all the benefits of the hotel like the food, gym, pool, security and more. The characters are so cute and vivid. Each page has lot to see too. There is a surprize ending. I think this would make a great Halloween book for ages 3-5.

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Come visit the most extraordinary hotel in the universe. It has rooms, facilities, and services to make just about any being comfortable. But watch out for the Soror-Horribilis.

I had noticed all the signs warning about the Soror-Horribilis but didn’t figure out the twist until it was revealed. That was quite clever. I liked the wide range of beings visiting the hotel and the offered amenities. Such an imaginative hotel and it definitely lives up to its fantastic name. The illustrations are vibrant and definitely pull you in with many things to look at. Highly recommended for imaginative kids.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Fabulous! Great tone, delightful art and sight gags, and I can imagine the fun and pleasure kids will take in making connections, recognizing guests from different fairytales/other origins as they page through. Twist at the end adds to what would have been a successful picture book even without it.

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Hotel Fantastic by Thomas Gibault has a fun premise and does a decent job with it, but it always just skated below the level of “really good” for me. The titular hotel is just as fantastical as the title promises in that its patrons range all over the map: robots, mermaids, aliens, vampires, dragons, and more (the staff is similarly outlandish). And the hotel does its best to accommodate its somewhat unique base: the robot’s room has a charger, the dragon’s a bed of gold to lay on, mermaids of course are in water. The parking garage has a cute assortment of vehicles, including a pumpkin drawn by horses and a spaceship, and the kitchen uses a dragon to heat the food. It’s all quite cute, as is the big reveal at the end (the “wanted” posters sprinkled throughout the hotel identifying the “soror horriblis” are a clue for observant parents). But I found myself throughout wishing for just, well, “more.” The language was too pedestrian for the content I thought; a bit of lyricism, some out-there similes or metaphors, something to dress the vocab and syntax up would have offered up some spark. And the drawings are often funny and cute, but again, they seemed just a little staid in comparison to the story itself (less so than the text). Hotel Fantastic is a fun book, and one I think little kids will enjoy and enjoy multiple times as the illustrations do offer up enough for children to see things they missed the first time. But it falls just short of the kind of book that excites you, which it certainly had the potential to be. Recommended, but a bit lukewarmly.

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I received an advanced reader copy of this from NetGalley. The colors are very vibrant in this book! It is also one of those that you will need to encourage children to linger over; there are many details in some of the drawings. And, I did not see the end coming!

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It would be hard to tell you what was more AWESOME, the illustration or the story. This is a hotel for everyone. Flying, under water, etc. It does not matter, everyone is welcome at the Hotel Fantastic. Well, except for one person…. A wonderful funny story to explore that is sure to be a hit in any house hold.

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They cater to all kinds: mermaids, robots, aliens, superheros, even Bigfoot. They have exciting places like the Sky Room, for those patrons who can fly, and a rooftop swimming pool. A world famous chef makes Grilled Glubor and valet parking is available for all kinds of vehicles. There's just one problem: Soror-Horribilis, whose wanted poster permeates the hotel and who seems to be more powerful than the security team.

Vibrant, humorous illustrations and a twist at the end should make this a student favorite.

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I love all the literary connections. Fans of hotel Transylvania will gravitate towards this one. I liked this book. Great display of imaginative thinking.

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Pretty cute picture book about a hotel that accommodates a variety of monsters, aliens, superheroes and more! But there is a twist, can you catch it as you read?

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This is a great book for imagination storytime. Lots of creativity!
I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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​Interest K-3

Have you ever had one of those days when everything seemed to go wrong and you were just blah? Well that's how Rosie's day started off. From the minute she wakes up all throughout the school day Rosie just has a black cloud over her head. As she is walking home from school she finds an unusual pair of glasses and when she puts them on the whole world brightens. The rest of her day is sunny and the next day is fantastic! That is until she accidentally drops the glasses in the river. Can Rosie continue her good day? Were the glasses magic or can she keep her day sunny?

This is a precious wordless picture book! The illustrations are fantastic. I love the lesson that it teaches about your perspective on life. Do not miss this adorable picture book!

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Loved this! The illustrations are fantastic--bright, colorful and full of detail. The story is fun and original with a cute twist at the end. It definitely is worth reading more carefully a second time to examine the illustrations in more detail.

I think children will appreciate this one. Will be ordering it for my school library.

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This author has the most amazing imagination. The illustrations in this book are wonderfully detailed and fun to look at, they make the book. Make sure you look at the small signs posted around the hotel. The story is not very detailed, but the discussion you can have with whoever you are reading it with will develop their vocabulary and their imagination. There are ghosts, mermaids, gryphons, superheros and so much more. There is so much to do at this hotel such swimming, dancing, fully stocked fitness centre and a gourmet restaurant. If you want a full service hotel with odd guests, check into Hotel Fantastic. I never saw the ending coming, but my grandson thought it was hilarious. Loved this one. A great addition to a family library.

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