Madeline (book)

Madeline

The cover to the original 1939 Madeline children's book
Author	Ludwig Bemelmans
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Children's literature
Published	1939
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback) Audiobook

Madeline is a 1939 book written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans, the first in the book series, which inspired the Madeline media franchise. It is considered one of the major classics of children's literature.^[1][2]

Madeline was named a Caldecott Honor Book for 1940.^[3]

Plot

The story is set in Catholic boarding school in Paris, France. The opening rhyming sentences were repeated at the start of the subsequent books in the series:^[4]

In an old house in Paris
That was covered in vines
Lived twelve little girls
In two straight lines.

Madeline is the smallest of the girls. She is seven years old, and the only redhead. She is the bravest and most daring of the girls, flaunting at "the tiger in the zoo" and giving Miss Clavel a headache as she goes around the city doing all sorts of antics.^[5]

One night, Miss Clavel wakes up, sensing something wrong. Doctor Cohn is called, and takes Madeline to the hospital because she has a ruptured appendix. Hours later, Madeline finds herself recuperating. She is greeted by her classmates and Miss Clavel, who give her flowers, and a doll house from her Papa. Madeline's classmates and Miss Clavel go home, but Miss Clavel wakes up again, to find the other little girls wailing, demanding to "have their appendix out too". Miss Clavel assures them that they're all well, and calls on them to go to sleep.

References