8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A DELIGHTFULLY IMAGINATIVE TALE, November 1, 2008
This review is from: Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles (Hardcover)
British author Rupert Kingfisher paid his first visit to Paris on a family vacation. We gather this trip took place during his youth as he describes his stay there as time when he had two life changing experiences - he discovered a shop filled with cartoon books and he first tasted anchovies. We also assume that he loved Paris as that seems evident in his descriptions of the city found in this delightfully imaginative tale.
Madeleine is the heroine of our story. She's a sweet young girl who is practically indentured by her parents to her mean, greedy Uncle Lard who owns a restaurant in Paris, the Squealing Pig. Although Madeleine has told her parents of his cruelty they do not believe her and trot off on safari or on a cruise around the world, leaving her to toil for Uncle Lard.
She is only allowed to wash dishes and scrub cookware even though she is a wonderful chef. The food in Uncle Lard's restaurant is abominable, even though he believes it to be grand. He's a fat dictator who orders his staff to smile all of the time, which is difficult to do when each and every one is usually cowering in fear.
One day the Head Chef discovers they are out of pate, which he desperately needs lest he be slaughtered or boiled alive. Eager to leave the kitchen Madeleine volunteers to go and buy some. She decides to take a different route on that day through "narrow lanes and winding alleys." Along the way she sees a long white cat, and believes it to be the same one she has seen "perched on the wall above the dust bins" while she is washing dishes at night. She follows the cat and is led to a shop Then, the most amazing thing happened - she saw the cat stand up on its hind legs, and go inside.
This is a far from ordinary shop run by Madame Pamplemousse who is clothed in black from head to toe and has the unsettling habit of appearing suddenly and then just as suddenly vanishing. When Madeleine tells her she is looking for pate, Madame Pamplemousse gives her a small bottle containing something dark green. The bottle label reads "Pate of North Atlantic Sea Serpent with Green Peppercorn Mustard."
What could that possibly taste like? How would people respond after eating it?
In some ways Kingfisher's story reminds me of "Chocolat," as the emphasis is very much on edibles and their unique effect on people. And, very much like "Chocolat," the characters in Kingfisher's story cry out to be adapted for a big screen. Each of them is unique and so deftly described that they are vivid in the reader's mind's eye. I can see Camembert the cat who each evening shares a bottle of Rose-Petal Wine with Madame Pamplemousse, and the beaked nose Monsieur Langoustine, the city's eminent food critic.
Illustrations, which appear on most pages are little gems in black and white, each amplifying the narrative and further illuminating the characters.
This title is recommended for 9 - 12 years olds - I'm a good bit older and it intrigued me from start to finish. There's something for everyone in Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles.
- Gail Cooke
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book!, March 16, 2009
This review is from: Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles (Hardcover)
I cannot pry my second-grader away from this book. She sent me to the library to get a Harry Potter book (her latest obsession in addition to the Narnia Chronicles). I ended up bringing this book home instead. It is an engaging, charming story appropriate for young readers. It provides more of a challenge than Magic Tree House and similar series. I highly recommend this book to parents of children who are strong readers but find books of a sufficient challenge to contain material that is not age-appropriate.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An engaging story of achievement, December 13, 2008
This review is from: Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles (Hardcover)
Madeleine must work in her horrible uncle Lard's restaurant each summer, and is allowed to just wash dishes despite her own cooking skills. But when she stumbles on a tiny Paris shop owned by one Madame Pamplemousse, she finds a kindred soul and new hope for her skills. An engaging story of achievement evolves.
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