Une nuit à Insect Hôtel, by Claire Schvartz
A stormy night, a roaming creature, insects strangely disappearing… Adventures, thrills, love and humour are happening in the Insect’Hotel!
It’s the end of summer and the Cowpat family have to head home. But disaster! It’s too stormy outside so they must stop at the Insect’Hotel. There is only one small room left. Poor Suzy… the young beetle is bunched up between her grandfather’s feet and her mother’s snoring and is unable to find sleep. She then decides to discover every corner of the hotel and meets plenty of occupants. All of them warn her about a strange, gigantic and scary thing haunting the hotel’s corridors. But Suzy is curious and audacious. With her aphid cuddly toy, she keeps on exploring the hotel…
Hardcover picture book, 24 x 32 cm, 48 pages
Rights sold: Italian, Korean, Simplified & Complex Chinese and Swedish
Article in Télérama, by Marine Landrot, May 25, 2021:
Claire Schvartz, an outstanding storyteller, takes us on holiday in the suitcases of a bunch of beetles, each one more original than the last. A delirious picture book full of surprises. (…)
Claire Schvartz could have been content to show the Bouzman family in their daily life, as these funny little creatures are self-sufficient, with their gentle madness and good humour. Drawn with a fine and dashing line, they arouse a frank sympathy. But in addition to her tickling pencil stroke, the author-illustrator has a well-honed talent for narration and takes us on a fantastico-wacky story rich in strong emotions.
Rare are the picture books that are so well constructed and full of fantasy, that keep you on the edge of your seat while still allowing for moments of fun. In 2017, Claire Schvartz had already hit the nail on the head with her first insect-sized adventure, Le Gravillon de pavillon qui voulait voir la mer. Her science as a clownish entomologist is confirmed today with this funny intrusion into a beetle’s skin.
