Madame Badobedah and the Old Bones

Ages 5 to 8, Grades K to 3

The fabulously eccentric (and secretly kind) Madame Badobedah returns for another escapade in this call to adventure—and ode to female explorers and pioneers—from Sophie Dahl and Lauren O’Hara.

Mabel lives with her parents in the Mermaid Hotel, where she keeps an eye on all the guests, particularly her friend, the endlessly fascinating Madame Badobedah. Madame Badobedah, who considers herself part of a long tradition of daring women such as Amelia Earhart and Zora Neale Hurston, has pirouetted through pyramids, swum with mermaids, and helped a triceratops with a toothache. Just opening one of the drawers in her dressing table full of mementos elicits tales of banshees and curses and an exciting new quest: a reverse jewel heist! On a mission to return a priceless “borrowed” emerald, Mabel and her adopted godmother don their best spy costumes and head to the Natural History Museum, where they might just meet an old—very old—friend. But as Mabel discovers, no one is too young or old for adventure, because it’s adventuring that makes life worthwhile. In concert with Lauren O’Hara’s fantastical illustrations, Sophie Dahl spins a tale of intergenerational friendship that shines like Madame Badobedah’s found sea glass: a colorful treasure.

About the Author

Sophie Dahl is a best-selling author of books for adults and children. Nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal, Madame Badobedah, her first book for children, received a Parents’ Choice Gold Award and was selected as a best children’s book of 2019 by both the Guardian and the Sunday Times (London). Sophie Dahl has also written for Vogue, British Vogue, the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Sunday Times (London). She lives in the English countryside with her husband, daughters, rescue dog, cat, and tortoise.

Lauren 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, then designed window displays and props for films. She is the illustrator of Madame Badobedah by Sophie Dahl as well as Hortense and the Shadow, The Bandit Queen, and Frindleswylde, all by her sister Natalia O’Hara. Lauren O’Hara lives in a converted church in Dublin, Ireland, with her partner, their cat Ida, and assorted ghosts.