Ooh-la-la (Max in Love) [Hardcover]

Maira Kalman (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Max in Love

Max, the dog poet, is finally in Paris, and all the most elite Parisians want to show him around. But when he sees the Dalmatian Crepes Suzette perform at the Crazy Wolf, he knows he's found the dog of his dreams. Full-color illustrations throughout.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"I can't believe it. Me. Max Stravinsky in Paris. Picasso. Paté. The opera. Ballet. The crème de la crème. The city that gleams. That romantic, extravagantic city of dreams. Oh pluperfect Paris, just give me a chance and I'll toast your beauty, oh Paris of France." So begins Maira Kalman's boldly painted, wildly designed, linguistically playful masterpiece Ooh-la-la (Max in Love), the story of a millionaire poet dog named Max who has come to Paris from New York and is staying at a hotel run by the aromatic Madame Camembert.

Moodily meandering, he wanders through the Parisian parks and boulevards with a hangdog expression on his face. After all, c'est Paris in the spring, and love is in the air for everyone it seems, except Max. Along the way he meets an outlandish cast of characters including Fritz from the Ritz (where he quit in a snit when the chef in a fit threw escargot on his chapeau); his French tutor Charlotte Russe (who came by autobus); and Pierre Potpourri, the owner of the noise-soaked, blue-smoked Crazy Wolf Nightclub, where Max finally encounters the piano-playing Crêpes Suzette, the dog he's been waiting for his whole life. The rest is history!

This is one of our favorite picture books of all time ... and for those who are equally mad for Max the poet dog, we can also recommend the hilarious and quirky Max Makes a Million, Max in Hollywood, Baby, and Swami on Rye: Max in India. (All ages, but perhaps especially for adults with stars in their eyes or Paris in their hearts.) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly

Ooh-la-la , c'est magnifique. Max Stravinsky, the poet dog hero of Max Makes a Million , realizes his dream of going to Paris in Kalman's latest high-spirited high jinks. In the City of Light he goes to museums and clubs, meets like-minded suffering artists and falls in love with Crepes Suzette, "that divine dalmatian." Visual and literary jokes abound--a Parisienne wears strategically placed bananas a la Josephine Baker; a hunchback crouches atop Notre Dame; a man's hat is marked "this is not a hat"--while lighthearted digressions offer amusing first lessons in art appreciation. The exuberant text imports French words and other vocabulary that rely heavily on context but convey a rousing musicality ("I am Fritz from the Ritz / which I quit in a snit / when the chef in a fit / threw escargot on my chapeau / and hit my head / with a stale French bread")--sophisticated fare indeed, but children and the uninitiated alike will find plenty of amusement nonetheless. Painstaking design integrates text and pictures, turns type upside-down or sideways, shrinks or expands type size--whimsical touches in perfect keeping with this fluid work. All ages.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; Open market ed edition (October 15, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670841633
• ISBN-13: 978-0670841639
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,215 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Explore the World > Europe

More About the Author

Maira Kalman is an illustrator, author, and designer. She has created many covers for The New Yorker, including the famous map of Newyorkistan (created with Rick Meyerowitz). Ms. Kalman's twelve children's books include Max Makes a Million, Stay Up Late, Swami on Rye, and What Pete Ate. She also has designed fabric for Isaac Mizrahi, accessories for Kate Spade, sets for the Mark Morris Dance Company, and, with her late husband Tibor Kalman under the M&Co. label, clocks, umbrellas, and other accessories for the Museum of Modern Art. Ms. Kalman's work is shown at the Julie Saul Gallery in Manhattan.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ooh la la, I'm in love!, December 2, 1999

By 

d.shields (bozeman, montana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ooh-la-la (Max in Love) (Hardcover)

Maira Kalman is wonderful. I totally fell in love with this book. I shared it with the first graders that I tutor and they adored the zany illustrations and blushed when Max fell for the lovely Crepes Suzette. It was also a great way to introduce a little french culture. They were totally facinated and asked me to find more Max books. Please don't pass this one by because some of the vocab may be difficult for kids to understand. The illustrations are the most amazing that I've ever seen. Both kids and adults alike will be enthralled.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite book ever, February 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ooh-la-la (Max in Love) (Hardcover)

Everyone needs a copy of this insanely splendid book. Kids will love poring over the infinitely perusable pictures and absorbing the exuberant joie de vivre of it all and adults will savor the language. "Alors, I must run. My souffle is sinking."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our whole family loves this book!, June 12, 2001

By 

"annegold" (Turtle Lake, ND) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ooh-la-la (Max in Love) (Hardcover)

It's just like a clever movie for kids that is aimed at the younger set but also includes lots of "inside jokes" for the parents. Other reviewers said it's too wordy for kids. My kids, though, have their own favorite lines. They say them right along with me when I read. I'm always happy when they pull a Max book off their crowded bookshelf. I finish reading with a smile on my face, and with my kids cuddled up next to me to see the pictures (a nice benefit on a chilly North Dakota night).