Mad About Madeline

This book is a collection of stories written by renowned author Mr. Ludwig Bemelmans, centered on the popular French fictional character ‘Madeline’. It also contains all the illustrations originally part of the stories when first written and published.The book includes an introduction written by ‘Pulitzer Prize’-winning journalist Ms. Anna Quindlen, which perfectly captures the thoughts of the young and the old alike when it comes to ‘Madeline’. One cannot help but chuckle at the mention of another popular French fictional character ‘Eloise’. It has to be read to be understood.The stories can be easily read aloud. They are all captivating and help young children develop a joy for reading.The illustrations are vastly different from those in the well-received animated series: aired in India as part of ‘Playhouse Disney’ on ‘Disney Channel India’ in 2005-06; and also available on ‘YouTube’. The book also includes lists and names of actual locations in Paris as and when illustrated in the stories.The last part of the book is even more special, as it contains an excerpt of Mr. Bemelmans’ own life-experiences which led to the origin of ‘Madeline’, and some of his family pictures.The book is heavy and must be handled with care. However, its pages do not have any sharp edges.It is a classic, as it finds resonance with readers all over the world even as time flies by. Such joys in life, in my humble opinion, must not be restricted by factors such as age and gender. It brings about a wide smile on its readers’ faces.Overall, this book is well worth the purchase!

Wonderful compilation of Bermelmans' delightful stories and art. I purchased this Madeline treasury to introduce 6 year old and 3 year old granddaughters to Madeline and her friends (75 years old in 2014). It prepared them for the 7-inch Madeline posable dolls I collected for them. I made new clothes, nightgowns and slippers, sweaters, hats, mittens and coats for 6 of the collected dolls, purchased two wardrobes, Miss Clavel and Pepito dolls as well. What Fun!

It's as lovely as a children's book can get. Charming, funny, and innocent stories!

A charming classic. Must have !

Saw the cartoons as a child and was overjoyed to get the books for my kids. Younger ones five and she finished the whole book that very day. It's easy to read. Finished too soon. The pictures have their own way of telling the tale over and above the few words on the page.

Excellent book , but very heavy. Quality of the papers is very good. Difficult to hold the book up to read as its very heavy.

All the original stories written & illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans about "twelve little girls in two straight lines who lived in an old house in Paris, which was covered by vines", of whom the youngest was Madeline! Brave, intrepid little girl!

And so many laughs and life adventure…. An appendectomy and the resulting scar for example….

Beautiful book. My girls love it and we read it every night.

Gave it as present to my grand daughter who’s called Maddalena. Parents loved the books and look forward to read them to her when old enough . Loved the paper dolls too.

Madeline é uma menina que vive numa escola interna na França com mais 11 meninas, sob a tutela de Miss Clavel. Ela é a mais corajosa das meninas e a protagonista das histórias, que contém poucas linhas de texto, todos rimados, muitas ilustrações, que variam entre coloridas e poucas cores. Madeline vem conquistando gerações desde 1939, data da publicação da primeira história. Foram seis histórias que o artista Ludwig Bemelmans criou. Todas estão neste volume de bom tamanho (próximo de um A4), capa dura, 320 páginas.Há ainda um texto sobre a origem da ideia, uma página de rascunhos e quatro fotos do artista com a família.Envio foto com o nome das seis histórias (conteúdo).Todas as histórias da Madeline vindas depois destas seis que constam no livro, foram criadas pelo seu neto, John Bemelmans Marciano.

Beautiful book, nicely finished and complete of all Madeline's story. A must have