[Ad- gifted Product] Often we wonder what our pets get up to when we are away. I personally only have one pet, a British Shorthaired cat called Pancake, but when you have an entire hotel full of cats, only mischief can be found when the humans go home to sleep! Archie and The Lawlor Cat Hotel is a children’s chapter book, for eight years and older, that tells tails of Archie, the head cat running a hotel.
Written from the point of view of Archie, this book does a fantastic job of looking at humans from their perspective. Noting various humanistic interactions, Archie tells you what he thinks of them (humans are staff) and how he sees cats in society (royalty, basically). He also takes you on all of the nighttime adventures that the other cats at the hotel have. From gambling to going out fishing, there is a lot that happens when the lights are switched off. This hotel is full of rotating customers, appearing whenever their humans go on vacation, so you are getting a look into one week of the cat’s adventures, with quite a few regulars at the hotel and a few newbies in the form of young kittens.
Archie leads these cats around and masterminds the plans, easily able to fool the humans into thinking that the cats were just eating and napping all night, as he can use CCTV. There are a few close calls in the book, as well as some interesting adventures – a week is really full of a lot of fun when you are on vacation. Through Archie and The Lawlor Cat Hotel, you also get to know the humans in Archie’s life. Kim the chef was well known by Archie and his owner Jane, for years and makes a special menu of food he loves. Jane, the author of the book, adopted Archie from a rescue center, and ended up running this cat hotel, with Archie by her side. Jane has two twin boys who both help out at the hotel and get mentioned from time to time. These humans are very interesting, though they are not around during most of the mischief that ensues.
Nights out include playing basketball, getting scraps from a nearby restaurant to host buffets, and trying to keep everyone from fighting, especially when a pretty cat is staying in the hotel. All of the daytime activities; spas, buffets, being read to sound like a relaxing adventure in themselves. Not only are their cats on the property, but a few dogs, some horses, and more are dotted around to entertain the felines and be apart of their activities.
It’s worth noting that The Lawlor Cat Hotel is a real life hotel located in Essex. The book itself has pictures of the grounds, the layout and pictures of these cats on the first few pages, showing you exactly where all of these adventures have happened. Having a real cat hotel with Archie running the show, then basing an entire book on their lives, is a really interesting idea. Reading through the adventures had me wanting Pancake to go on holiday to this hotel, in hopes he’d gain friends, eat good food, and maybe be apart of a rodeo if he wanted.
Archie and The Lawlor Cat Hotel is a very funny story to read through with such outlandish adventures, interesting characters and some great humans to boot. The story is very enjoyable for children, especially kids who love animals, as well as adults who want a quick read and have a soft spot for cats. You could even read it to your feline, if that’s something you enjoy doing in your free time.
Archie and The Lawlor Cat Hotel is currently available on Amazon and GoodReads.
As a cat lover, I am intrigued!
Also, I love the pictures of you reading the book with Pancake.
The book seems to follow the ‘cats do what they want’ theme but adds more fun to it.
It seems very interesting.
•Bree
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