Reach back to my childhood, or that of my kids, reading Madeline by the illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans.
This is a short story, with almost as many pictures as words, well close. The story is written in rhyming couplets (for
the most part). Bemelmans tells the
story of Madeline, a young orphan, who lives in Paris with a group of twelve young
girls and is overseen by Miss Clavel, who runs the orphanage. Madeline is the tiniest of the girls, but
also the ‘risk-taker’ of the group as she runs up to the animals in the zoo and
attempts to scare them! One night Miss
Clavel hears a cry from the bedroom where all twelve girls sleep and runs to
see what is happening. Madeline is
crying as she seems to be in pain. Miss
Clavel brings in Dr. Cohn to examine her and notes it may be her appendix. They rush to the hospital. Meanwhile, all of the other children are sad
and scared. A few days later the girls
are allowed to visit Madeline in the hospital.
To their amazement she is happy, surrounded by books, toys and treats
provided by concerned donors. Madeline
is all better, happy, and stands up to show her big scar from the
operation. The girls all return to the
orphanage. Later that evening, Miss
Clavel hears crying from the room again.
All of the girls are crying of pain with their appendix, hoping they too
can receive toys and candy from others.
Cute story which captures how kids are jealous and following the
behavior they think will get them the same outcome. Much like what we see with peer pressure on
college campuses, right? Loved the
pictures, nice rhyming sentences, and a story that captured the hearts of
many. Love the favorite books that are
given to me!
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