The inhabitants of Hotel Strange man girl Marietta; Mr. Leclair, the rat night watchman; rascally, purple monster Kiki; and ghostly hotel guest-book Mr. Snarf joy their long winter nap, but when guests bang on the hotel's door, they learn they've overslept. It's already March 21, the first day of spring, and it's time to get the hotel up and running. Their usual first guest, Mr. Spring, is nowhere to be found, so Marietta and her friends journey into the wintry woods to find him. First, they must track down grouchy Mr. Winter, but they encounter lots of peril on the way. Will they ever find Mr. Spring? This French import features clearly drawn, detailed, and expressive full-color art with imaginative figures and an engaging adventure story. Though one of the friends looks like a boy but smokes a pipe, which might concern some adults, the general atmosphere is pleasantly fable-like. As an added bonus, there's a recipe for Marietta's favorite sponge cake on the final page. Perfect for fans of Luke Pearson's Hilda series.