Books
The story takes place in a Catholic boarding school in Paris. Contrary to popular belief, the girls are not orphans. In the first book in the series, Madeline's "papa" sends her a dollhouse when she is ill. Also, the girls all go to visit their parents in the Christmas book.
The books all start with the line "In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines ...". The story is written entirely in rhyme, and the simple themes of daily life appeal to children.
The original series of Madeline books written by Ludwig Bemelmans has six books:
- Madeline - Madeline gets appendicitis and must go to the hospital to have her appendix removed
- Madeline's Rescue - Madeline falls off a bridge and is rescued by a stray dog who joins her school. Winner of the 1954 Caldecott Medal
- Madeline and the Bad Hat - The Spanish Ambassador moves in next door, and Madeline assumes his son Pepito is mean and spoiled
- Madeline in London - Madeline and Pepito travel around the city of London
- Madeline and the Gypsies - Madeline and Pepito run away to join a group of traveling gypsies
- Madeline's Christmas - Madeline celebrates Christmas with her friends
The new series of Madeline books are written by John Bemelmans-Marciano, they are:
- Madeline in America - Madeline travels to Texas in America
- Madeline Loves Animals - Madeline travels to the zoo and meets the animals there
- Madeline Says Merci - Madeline learns how to be polite
- Madeline and the Cats of Rome - Madeline and her class travel to Rome in Spring.
- Madeline at the White House - Madeline and her class visit the White House in Washington, DC
Read more about this topic: The New Adventures Of Madeline
Famous quotes containing the word books:
“An author who speaks about his own books is almost as bad as a mother who talks about her own children.”
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)
“I alternate between reading cook books and reading diet books.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)