Madeline In America And Other Holiday Tales [Hardcover]

Ludwig Bemelmans (Author), John Bemelmans Marciano (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

In this beautiful gift book, John Bemelmans Marciano has brought to fruition a neverbefore-published manuscript written by his grandfather Ludwig - the tale of Madeline's only trip to America and her holiday adventures. Includes two more of Bemelmans's wonderful Christmas stories.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Madeline, in all her incarnations over six decades, has remained first and foremost one of "twelve little girls in two straight lines" in an old house in Paris. Now, with news that will astound her many fans, not to mention Madeline herself, she and her 11 cohorts find themselves on their way to Texas, U.S.A. Madeline a wealthy cowgirl? Why not! She handles her marvelous windfall with her usual aplomb, donning denim and boots to hop aboard a horse for a tour of her newly inherited gold mines, stampeding cattle herds, and gushing oil fields. At the end of the day, Miss Clavel prepares to tuck 12 little girls into bed--but wait... there are only 11! Where's Madeline?

Traditionalists need not fear that wealth will corrupt their favorite little orphan. Some surprises are still in store, even for Madeline.

While sorting through his grandfather's files, artist and writer John Bemelmans Marciano discovered the manuscript and pencil sketches for this last of the much-loved Madeline series. With great respect, Marciano completed the project with full-color paintings, and added two more of Bemelmans's holiday classics--"The Count and the Cobbler" and "Sunshine"--to create a collection no Bemelmans and Madeline devotee can do without. (Click to see a sample spread. Copyright 1999 by Barbara Bemelmans, Madeline Bemelmans, and John Bemelmans Marciano. Used by permission of Scholastic Inc.) (Ages 4 to 8--or all ages, of course) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

Alas, this seems like ersatz MadelineAbut try telling that to the hordes of Madeline fans who will clamor for it. As a note explains, during the 1950s Bemelmans drafted a Madeline adventure set in Texas at Christmas and featuring the department store owned by his friend Stanley Marcus; a version was passed out to Neiman-Marcus customers, and Bemelmans abandoned the project. Here his grandson supplies his own color illustrations for the discarded text; the quantum difference between Bemelman's offhand genius and the product here is revealed with a simple comparison of sketches drawn by Bemelmans, reproduced on the back of the jacket, with the extrapolations inside. The text, clearly a work in progress, splices together a story line from Madeline and the Gypsies with a cowboy motif and a big promotion for "the world's greatest store"; the heroine, inheriting a Texas-size fortune, seems unlike the "real" Madeline ("And there'll be no more school, that is the best part./ For who is rich is already smart," opines this impostor). Two other Bemelmans tales with Christmas settings are also included, with art similarly refurbished by Marciano. Ages 5-8. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books; 1st edition (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590039105
• ISBN-13: 978-0590039109
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary Criticism & Collections

More About the Author

Ludwig Bemelmans (April 27, 1898-October 1, 1962), Austro-American essayist, humorist, novelist, artist, and author of books for children, was born in Meran, in the Tyrol, in territory that was then Austrian and is now Italian. In 1914, he arrived in New York with letters of introduction to managers of several large hotels. Having worked his way up to a position as a waiter at the Ritz-Carlton, he left to enlist in the United States Army in 1917. Eventually he opened his own restaurant; only in 1934 did he turn to writing, at the suggestion of a friend in publishing who, noticing the whimsical paintings with which he covered the walls of his apartment, urged him to undertake a children's book. Hansi, the first of Bemelmans' fifteen books for children, beguiled most reviewers with its simple watercolor illustrations and nostalgic story of two children and their dog in the Austrian Tyrol. His greatest success, however, was Madeline, a rhymed picture book about a Parisian schoolgirl who becomes the envy of her classmates when her appendix is removed. Indeed, the Madeline books, of which there were five, remain the work that Bemelmans is primarily remembered for. The inspired amateurishness of the illustrations and the sophisticated doggerel verses have been an influence on later juvenile literature. Madeline's Rescue, the second book in the series, was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1953. Bemelmans claimed to have no imagination, and all his books were the more or less direct product of his experience. He described his life as a restaurateur in Life Class and Hotel Splendide, his travels to Ecuador and Italy in The Donkey Inside and Italian Holiday, and his stint as a Hollywood screenwriter in the novel Dirty Eddie. At the time of his death he was working on the story of his childhood. Bemelmans was a genial satirist and lover of life, but a serious intent often underlay his humor, especially in his novels. A case in point is Blue Danube, a fanciful story set on an island of the Danube, the comedy of which is very much clouded by the appearance of a band of odious Nazis. A somewhat more successful novel was Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, concerning the unusual journey of an elderly Ecuadorian general from his villa in Biarritz to his home in South America. From the time of his marriage to Madeline Freund in 1935 (they had one daughter, Barbara) until his death in New York of pancreatic cancer, Bemelmans traveled, painted, and generally wrote a book or two a year. Reviewing his posthumous novel, the comic love story The Street Where the Heart Lies, Burling Lowrey in Saturday Review called Bemelmans "a superb craftsman with a sure eye for atmospheric detail and a supremely accurate ear for the speech of Adult Innocents madly in love with the unattainable.. . He was a complete original, with an absolutely unique temperament and view toward the world."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars NOT TYPICAL MADELINE!, October 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Madeline In America And Other Holiday Tales (Hardcover)

I was very disappointed after reading Madeline in America. I don't feel this story is in sync with other Madeline stories. The story dwelled on Money. I don't feel little children need to learn about trust funds, inheritance or all the things money can buy. I give the book 2 stars for the other 2 stories in the book that are not Madeline stories, but are quite cute. If you purchase this book, you may want to 'write your own story' to go along with the pictures in Madeline in America. The pictures are Texas scenes, and your children can probably tell a much better adventure story than an inheritance story. I feel obligated to let you know this isn't Typical Madeline so you will be prepared and not disappointed, as I was.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must for your Madeline Collection!, November 1, 1999

By 

Miriam A. Kilmer "Owner, Rising Dove Bookstore" (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Madeline In America And Other Holiday Tales (Hardcover)

Although the "Madeline" story doesn't live up to the earlier books (the rhythm is bumpy), it is entertaining. The other stories are absolutely marvelous, as are all the illustrations. John Bemelmans Marciano is a worthy successor to his granddaddy. This would make a great Christmas gift for any Madeline fan.

31 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One More Time!, December 2, 1999

By 

Paul L. Marciano (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Madeline In America And Other Holiday Tales (Hardcover)

When Ludwig Bemelmans passed away he was working on a final Madeline book. Although he had completed the text, the pictures were only in sketch form. His grandson has apparently inherited all of his artistic talent and done a beautiful job completing his work. Adults and children alike will love this story. Plus - there are two other marvelous children's stories by Bemelmans re-published. Three books for the price of one!