Customer Reviews

Madeline's Rescue: StoryTape (StoryTape, Puffin)

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
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This is probably my favorite of the "Madeline" series for kids. Artistically it is beautiful, mixing expressive and energetic line drawings with the occasional full-color painting quite effectively. The story mixes very comic elements (like the girls all fighting over who will have the dog sleep on their bed, while their harried nurse keeps getting up in the night as always) and elements of true poignancy, like when the dog is lost. We see Madeline in her window looking at the empty streets, sighing "Oh Genevieve, where can you be? Genevieve, please come back to me." The direct, sad, but unsentimental tone of this moment is really moving. Overall, a most satisfying tale indeed, both in story and in art, with a happy ending that is sure to please.

My sisters and I loved this book when we were small and I'm having fun reading this book to my little one. Poor Madeline, always ornery, never learning, falls into a river and a dog rescues her. It's very sweet to see how the girls fight over the dog but, when she gets out one night and returns, there was enough "hound to go around," as the book says when dear Genevieve has a litter of puppies, one for each girl. This is a darling classic and quite worthy of the Caldecott Award it received.

Madeline's Rescue is about a little girl named Madeline who lives in a shelter with 12 other girls. She was not afraid of anything until one day she fell in the water, and a dog jumped in and saved her. They decided to keep the dog and name it Genevieve. And the struggles in this story teach kids to stand up for what they believe in even if other people think that you are wrong. Its for kids about 3-7 because its just one of the many wonderful children's books that is a great bedtime story because it never gets old!

If you were to walk up to the first person you met on the street and asked, "Are you familiar with the works of Mr. Ludwig Bemelmans?", you would probably get a funny stare. If, however, you were to walk up to another person on the street and said, "In an old house that was covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines", you might still get a funny stare but at least they might be familiar with darling "Madeline". Though its author hasn't received much interest over the years, the Madeline books have garnered a great deal of love from many members of the literary world. And of these, the only Caldecott winner was "Madeline's Rescue".

Just as they do every day, the little girls attending a French boarding school (run by the pleasant nun Miss Clavel) take a walk across the Seine. On one day in particular, however, the feisty Madeline (who beyond her near drowning gets short shift in this book) falls into the river and nearly drowns. Thanks to a plucky mongrel nearby, Madeline lives and the dog is adopted by the school. To the dismay of the students, however, several trustees coming for an annual inspection are chagrined that such a dog (a mixed-breed undoubtedly) would be allowed to live in one of their schools. Genevieve (for such is the dog's name) is cruelly turned out into the streets and it's up to the girls to rescue their faithful pup.

The book is ostensibly for children, but I suspect it is far more loved by Paris-adoring adults. As the little girls search for their doggy they walk about a variety of well known Parisien sights. Here they search amongst the patrons of the trendy Deux Magots. Yonder you can see them in a breathtaking search across Le Pere-Lachaise. I ask you, in what other picture book are you likely to see a full quote on Oscar Wilde's tomb (not to mention nods to Chopin, Moliere, Balzac, and more)? Bemelmans has a lovely lilting ear for his own prose as well. Just consider the line...

"Miss Genevieve, noblest dog in France,
You shall have your VEN-GE-ANCE!"

You just can't beat it. On top of that are some wonderful illustrations. Though most of the book is black on white with yellow, there is always the occasional full page spread that is deftly colored in deep greens and dark blues. On the whole, there is much to love in this book. Beloved for more than fifty years now, it shall continue to be just as loved for centuries to come.

By this third book in the series, readers know that Madeline is the smallest one of the twelve little girls in two straight lines who live in an old house in Paris that was covered with vines. They know that she is not afraid of mice and that "nobody knew so well, How to frighten Miss Clavel." In fact, Ludwig Bemelmans accompanies those familiar words with a simplified version of the same scene accompanying the same words from the original story of "Madeline." That is because things happen differently this time, as Madeline slips and falls into the river. "Poor Madeline would now be dead, But for a god, That kept its head."

"Madeline's Rescue" is actually more about Madeline's rescuer, the aforementioned dog that "dragged her safe from a watery grave." Miss Clavel and the other girls take Madeline and the dog home, and when she turns out the light for the night, there is a fight among the girls as to where the dog should sleep. The dog proves to be clever and helpful and is named Genevieve (rhymes with "beef"). Things are happy for six months and then comes the day of the annual inspection by the trustees, and these wretched people declare that "DOGS AREN'T ALLOWED IN SCHOOL" and order Miss Clavel to get rid of "it." They are also bigots (Genevieve is "of uncertain race") and they send Genevieve out into the world.

This is where we learn that we were wrong about the title, because it is not about the rescue OF Madeline but the rescue BY Madeline, Miss Clavel, and the other girls. For it is Madeline who jumps on a chair and declares: "Miss Genevieve, noblest dog in France, You shall have your VEN-GE-ANCE!" This is the best part of the book, because this is where Bemelmans shows his characters searching high and low for their beloved dog in some of the landmark sites in Paris (including Le Pere Lachaise, the celebrated cemetery, where Bemelmans has worked in the final resting places of Oscar Wilde, Rossini, Bizet, Chopin, Sarah Bernardt, Honore Balzac, Hugo, Moliere, Heloise et Abelard, and many more).

But we also love the way Bemelmans plays with his familiar storyline, because in the middle of the night when Miss Clavel turns on her light and says, "Something is not right," she does it not once and not twice but three times this time around. So there is a happy ending and a happier ending. Actually a perfect ending given all of the fighting and the cutest drawing of the twelve little girls in two straight lines. As always, Bemelmans' childlike illustrations are captivating (and I see a touch of Thurber in his drawings of Genevieve). Any kid can draw a face with dot eyes and U-shaped mouths, and they have to appreciate that Bemelmans does not always color within the lines. But for me it is the full color illustrations of the sights of Paris that I like to look at and catch all of the details. I would love to have a pitcher book that just collects Bemelmans' Paris scenes, even without the rhyming text that is another part of what makes these stories enjoyable and classics of children's literature.

Madeline's poetic style story continues the life of the charges of Miss Clavel, and especially Madeline, in the old house with vines in Paris. Miss Clavel, who is always so self-possessed has her one moment of total loss and confusion when Madeline falls into the river Seine. While Madeline struggles, a brave, homeless dog boldly rescues her. What follows are the "true to life" jealousies of the other little girls when Madeline adopts the dog and names her Genevive. The girls experiences with Genevive are always a hit with children and the adult who is a child at heart. This beautiful book is a past Caldecott winner!

This is a wonderful story, with wonderful pictures. There are many reviews recapping the story, so I won't do so now. I will tell you that my daughter LOVES this story, and at the age of 2 had memorized every word on every page, and would "read" it to herself in her crib at night, imitating the voices that I had used when I read it to her. This story, along with all of the other original Madeline stories, should be a permanent addition to any little girl's book collection. It seems like a story that little boys would love as well, as does "Madeline and the Bad Hat". I highly reccomend this book.

I think that this book was a really great book for little kids, It tells how people can be scared of things that can happen. This book was a book that had a really nice lesson in it, and I think that it would most likley be a book that mothers, fathers, ect. can read together with their kids, and enjoy it at the same time. Madeline learned her lesson not to walk on the ledge of the bridge when she fell into the water and almost drowned. If it wasn't for the dog that saved her, she would of not lived! That is why I think that you should read this great book, and you will love it. This is an adventurous book, with lots of picture's and details. The dog who's name is Genevieve was a stray dog, and he was also the one who saved her. He soon after became her bestfriend. All the girls in the school all try to keep the dog from getting taken away from Madeline, even the nun that watched Madeline and the other girls sticked up for the dog. The inspectors came in and tried to take the dog away from the girls, and they were so upset. At the end, they got to keep the dog, and it was a very happy ending. When the author wrote this book, I think that he was thinking about the friendship that someone can have for an animal of any kind, or a person. This book shows alot of that. The kids will also love the surprise ending to the story, because I knoqw that I did. When I read the story, I could not put down the book, not even for one second. This was a great book, and I know that you will love it, and that is why you should get it.

My 3-year-old-son LOVES Madeline books. This is one is definitely one of his favorites (and, I'll admit it, mine too).

Of course Madeline is making Miss Clavel crazy by walking on the rail of the bridge (Since "no one knew so well, how to frighten Miss Clavel"). When she slips and falls into the river, a brave dog saves her. The girls name her Genevieve and she becomes part of their school. More antics follow, with adorable pictures and clever rhymes. I read the voices of the board of trustees in a fake French, Maurice Chevalier-like accent just for kicks.

The Madeline series has fascinated children, especially little girls, for decades. Having watched my own children enjoy the books, Madeline's Rescue became my favorite to read to children and to enjoy myself. The book has a marvelous balance of story and outstanding illustrations that make it more complete than almost any other illustrated children's book.

My wife and daughters love to quote the beginning of the Madeline books:

"In an old house in Paris

That was covered with vines

Lived twelve little girls

In two straight lines.

. . .

the smallest one was Madeline."

What an engrossing beginning! Why an old house? Why two straight lines? What are the little girls doing there? Why are we focusing on the smallest? Your mind is filled with questions that cause you to want to race forward and learn more.

This is a boarding school where the parents do not make an appearance in the story. So you are looking at the independent life of young girls.

Madeline's Rescue is the second book in the series. You will probably enjoy the book more if you read Madeline first.

One day while walking with the school, Madeline falls into the fast-moving Seine. If you have ever seen the river, you know it would be hard to rescue anyone from it without a boat. In this case, a brave dog saves Madeline. The girls take the dog home and name her Genevieve. They fight over who will sleep with her.

All's well until the school's trustees come for their annual inspection. The trustees point out the rule, "DOGS AREN'T ALLOWED IN SCHOOL." So Genevieve is put out. After the trustees leave, the girls are naturally upset and search all over Paris for her.

But Genevieve returns on her own. Miss Clavel awakens in the middle of the night to find her outside. Then Miss Clavel is awakened again when the girls fight over Genevieve. Then, she is awakened a third time for a very nice surprise! You'll have to read the book to find out what it is.

Most illustrated books don't hold up well in small paperback form. Madeline's Rescue is the exception. I recommend that you buy a large, library binding edition for home, and the paperback for travel.

The illustrations won this book the 1954 Caldecott award for best illustrated children's book in that year. I am sure you will enjoy the bright splashes of color and inked outlines for the happy scenes, and the somber, cold tones for the sad times. If you've ever been in Paris during the wintry weather, the dull looking pages will remind you of those overcast, dull days.

After you finish reading this book with your child, I suggest that you think about where else our connection with animals brings rewards in both directions. Obviously, this is true with other pets. But what about humble animals like the earthworm that make our gardens grow and look more beautiful? When we loosen the soil for the plants, we help prepare it for the earthworms too.

Discover our natural heritage and obligations!