Dec 252011
Floors: Book 1
Charlie had his chocolate factory. Stanley Yelnats had his holes. Leo has the wacky, amazing Whippet Hotel.
The Whippet Hotel is a strange place full of strange and mysterious people. Each floor has its own quirks and secrets. Leo should know most of them – he is the maintenance man’s son, after all. But a whole lot more mystery gets thrown his way when a series of cryptic boxes are left for him . . . boxes that lead him to hidden floors, strange puzzles, and unexpected alliances. L
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Don’t forget to bring your duck!,
Based on the name, I had no idea what to expect when I opened Floors to the first page. Within minutes, I was hooked. It is a mystery and fantasy rolled into one, and I like the fact that it gives kids who don’t like science fiction another option. Although it is fantasy (a hotel where the rooms have elaborate themes and the ducks seem to know what you are saying to them), it is not science fiction. It is what I like to call ‘good old fashion’ fantasy. This is a great book for both boys and girls, which makes it that much better, in my opinion. If you are looking for a great book for a 9-12 year old, pick this one up.
Leo lives in the Whippet hotel with his dad, who is the handyman. When the owner of the hotel disappears, Leo finds himself involved in solving a mystery, and along the way finds out a lot about this very mysterious hotel, and makes a new friend. In the end, he also learns about loyalty.
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|One of the best books I read this year!,
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The Whippet Hotel is an unusual place to stay and Leo (the maintenance man’s son) finds it’s a REALLY unusual place to live. Every floor of the hotel is something different. There are secret rooms, secret floors and a lot of unusual guests (including ducks). The whole place is a maze! Mr. Whippet (the owner) and Leo become friends and Leo loves living in and exploring the strange hotel. When Mr. Whippet unexpectedly disappears, even stranger things happen at the hotel and the building starts to fall apart. Leo finds clues around the hotel. Clues that someone is leaving him in boxes. Clues that can help Leo save the Whippet Hotel if he can solve them.
I thought this story was AWESOME from the beginning to the end. The Whippet Hotel is just cool (my favorite room is the pinball room) and Mr. Carman’s story really gave me a good idea of what it would be like to live there. I really got into the story. The book is exciting because of the mystery in the story and also some of the rooms (like the train room) were very cool to read about. Leo is good main character. He is very likeable. My favorite character though was Merganzer Whippet the owner of the hotel. You learn a lot about him even when his character is missing! The book would be great for young advanced readers because there’s no real scary parts and no violence. This has to be one of the best stories I have read this year!
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|Perfect for third grade and up,
My nine-year-old daughter loved this for the following reasons (her words!):
* It had lots of adventure.
* There were definitely some “red herrings.”
* The characters were very interesting. Some were quite quirky, like Merganer Whippet (who has a cool name).
* Even the bad guys aren’t really bad guys.
* There are four clues that Leo must solve to find Mr. Whippet.
* There’s a great surprise ending.
* There are even ducks!
Bottom line: Kids who like fantasy/mystery stories will enjoy this and clamor for the sequels. Keep up the good work, Mr. Carman!
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