There’s No Place Like Gnome’s

Author: Scott Magoon
Translator: Scott Magoon
Pages: 40
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Tags: Ages 3-5, Book Review, Picture Books, Read Aloud

Book Description:

Meet Gnome.

He isn’t your garden-variety garden gnome. He runs a small hotel for animals, and he works very hard at it. He spends his days fluffing, filing, and feeding the hotel’s fountain fish. And his hard work was finally paying off! His hotel had become a place for small animals to stay for a night or two, and all the guests agreed that there was no place like Gnome’s.

But then the humans went too far and destroyed the forest that the bigger animals called home, so everyone went to Gnome’s. He wanted to turn the bigger animals away, but where else would they go? So Gnome found a way to make room for everyone, despite the hotel being a little cramped.

But when disaster strikes and damages the hotel, the guests are forced to find a new shelter. Gnome worries that all hope is lost until an unlikely guest encourages him to rebuild so that he can once again fluff, file, feed the fountain fish, and welcome guests back to Gnome’s.

Review:

This is a sweet story about a garden gnome running a hotel for animals. Unfortunately, humans cut down the entire forest and all the animals come to live in his hotel. Then disaster strikes the hotel and it seems all hope is lost for the hotel until a magical elf family plants a new tree and gnome and his friends rebuild the hotel and the forest regrows.

I liked the clever use of “There’s no place like Gnome’s”, and thought several of the pictures were very beautiful and dramatic. I found the plot a little too happenstance though. It feels like the humans destroy the forest out of nowhere. Then the storm comes out of nowhere. Then the elves appear out of nowhere. The message of everyone being welcome and working together in the end is a great message though, and so this book is worth a read!